Motor racing-Antonelli's arrival echoes Hamilton's 2007 breakthrough
By Alan Baldwin
MONZA, Italy, Aug 31 (Reuters) -Kimi Antonelli has yet to race in Formula One but Mercedes see the 18-year-old Italian as a fitting replacement for Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver of all time, who is joining Ferrari next year.
There are similarities for a start in the manner in which they arrived at the top, with Antonelli's deal announced on Saturday, if not in their very different backgrounds and characters.
Hamilton, now 39 and with a record 105 grand prix wins and seven championships under his belt, was 22 when he made his sensational debut with high-fliers and former champions McLaren in 2007.
Thrown in the deep end from the start, he was a race winner soon after.
Mercedes were McLaren's partners then, and had helped guide Hamilton's career from karting through the junior series just as Antonelli has benefited from being part of the "family" for years.
Hamilton's emergence was preceded by plenty of media debate about whether or not he was ready, and the pros and cons of youth over experience, and there have been echoes of that with Antonelli.
Both also acquired quite a reputation on their way up the ladder.
Saturday's announcement sets up what could be a compelling 2025 season, with Hamilton at Ferrari and Antonelli -- who turned 18 only last Sunday -- a potential rival in the car he vacated and ready to be measured against teammate George Russell.
Mercedes, a difficult couple of years now behind them, have already won three races this year and can hope to stay competitive in 2025.
Antonelli has been well-prepared by a team that sees in him another special, generational talent like Hamilton or Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who debuted with Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso in 2015 at the age of 17 before moving on to Red Bull.
"Kimi absolutely has the speed. He's proven that in all of his categories," said Russell. "There will be mistakes on the way, as there were for all of us.
"I think every single driver on the grid in Formula One in their first couple of seasons made very visual mistakes and that's going to be obviously highlighted more for any driver who's at the front of the field.
"But Kimi's exceptionally fast. I've got no doubt he's going to be really keeping me on my toes next year."
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Antonelli's mistakes were going to be more visible than if he had been placed with a lower-ranked team to gain experience, as Russell was with Williams, but they were ready for that.
Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Hugh Lawson
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
