17-Year-Old Prodigy To Test Mercedes' W13 To Possibly Prepare For Replacing Hamilton

Mercedes reportedly prepared an extensive F1 training program for a young, promising driver who will only start his first season in F2 this year.

Lewis Hamilton will be leaving Mercedes, and the team principal, Toto Wolff, suggested it might be time to do something bold. Could it mean putting a rookie into the car alongside George Russell?

Over the last few months, there has been quite a lot of talk about the junior who is part of Mercedes Academy - Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

He is only 17, but the Italian driver shows immense promise. Over the last two years, he won the Italian F4 Championship, the ADAC Formula 4 Championship, the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, and the Formula Regional European Championship.

In 2024, Mercedes decided to move Antonelli from F4 straight to F2, skipping F3. However, he did a testing day in F3, and engineers who worked with him reportedly labeled the 17-year-old "best driver in F3 car since Verstappen."

Mercedes is obviously preparing the Italian for a career in F1 and puts a lot of trust in him to make him skip F3. However, would he be ready for F1 just after one year in F2?

Mercedes might be working on a solution to this question as well. According to Auto Motor und Sport, Mercedes will be launching a W13 (2022 model) for the young Italian, with which he should complete an intense Formula 1 program parallel to his F2 season.

Antonelli, though, still needs to show what he's got in F2 before there would be any opportunity for him in F1. Even then, it still seems more sensible to put him in a Williams to gain more experience like George Russell did.

However, according to a recent report from The Race, Antonalli is Toto Wolff's plan A regarding Hamilton's replacement. Could we really see the 17-year-old in Mercedes in 2025?