Andrea Kimi Antonelli: the wunderkind who sparked Mercedes’ leap of faith Premium

Mercedes takes a leap of faith by signing 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton in F1.

One of the greatest thrills of being a connoisseur of sport is watching prodigies arrive on the biggest stage and challenge the established order. Think of a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar making his international debut in Pakistan, Lionel Messi charming Barcelona in his teens, or Boris Becker and Martina Hingis winning a singles Major before turning 18.

These instances don’t occur often, and when they do, there is a buzz, not just in the respective sporting bubble but also in the wider world.

In the world of Formula One, one such example was Max Verstappen’s debut as a 17-year-old in 2015. People were shocked that a kid who was not legally allowed to drive a road car in most countries could race the fastest cars on earth. 

The issue prompted so much hand-wringing that the FIA changed its rules, mandating 18 as the minimum age for receiving the Super Licence needed to compete in F1.

Now, almost a decade later, there is considerable excitement again in the paddock following Mercedes’ decision to draft rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton, statistically the most accomplished driver in the sport’s history, in 2025.

The 18-year-old Italian has had a meteoric rise in the junior categories. He joined the Mercedes Young Driver Programme in 2019 as a 13-year-old. He aced the karting scene and, in 2022, won the Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 championships, dominating both series and making the smooth transition from karts to cars.

In the Italian F4, he won 13 out of 20 races, and in the German F4, he won nine out of 15, showing his prowess. He dominated the Formula Regional Middle-East and Formula Regional European championships the following year, clinching both titles easily.