Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok wrote he talked to engineers from F3 who suggested Mercedes's prodigy is the "best driver in an F3 car since Verstappen."
Mercedes has one seat to fill after the end of the upcoming season, and Toto Wolff has quite a few exciting options lined up as possible replacements for Lewis Hamilton.
There are options like Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, or World Champions like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. Some speculations suggest Alonso might be one of the most probable go-to choices of the team principal.
However, Wolff himself stated it might be time to do something bold. Wouldn't Alonso in Mercedes be a bold move? According to multiple sources, the Austrian might have a 17-year-old driver from Mercedes Academy on top of his list.
The driver's name is Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He is an Italian driver who has won just about every rookie Championship he has attended.
In 2022, he won the Italian F4 Championship and ADAC Formula 4 Championship. In 2023, he won the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and the Formula Regional European Championship.
In 2024, the 17-year-old will be skipping F3 to jump straight into F2 driving for Prema Racing. In the meantime, however, he did a private test day with the F3 championship, and he apparently impressed everyone. Karun Chandhok on X (formerly Twitter):
"Agree with @SportmphMark - from everything I hear of Antonelli, he’s pretty damn special. Spoke with the F3 engineers who ran him recently on a private test day."
According to the former F1 driver, the engineers who worked with Antonelli during the test day asserted he is the " best driver in an F3 car since Verstappen."
"[They] said he was the best driver in an F3 car since Verstappen! McLaren gamble with rookie Lewis in 2007 worked out."
If the Italian driver achieves a great result in F2 this year, we may see him in F1 starting from the season 2025. Could Wolff's bold move include bringing the 17-year-old right into Mercedes' seat?
