Mercedes were thrown a complete curveball at the start of this year’s Formula One calendar when seven time World Champion Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving for Ferrari in 2025.

Since then, rumours have been swirling about who Mercedes may opt to bring in to fill such big boots. 

Whilst many have put Lando Norris, Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz as the front-runners to fill the gap left by Sir Lewis Hamilton.

There is one person flying under the radar who may nip the seat from all of those veteran drivers.

The man in question is Mercedes’ 17-year-old protege who currently drives alongside Ferrari’s own wonder kid Oliver Bearman with the Formula 2 team Prema.

The F1 World was left shocked earlier this year when Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving Mercedes after 11 years for Ferrari

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed Andrea Kimi Antonelli will test Mercedes’ 2021 car later this month

The 17-year-old in question is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who currently races for Italian motorsport outfit Prema Racing in Formula Two alongside Oliver Bearman – who made his Formula One debut in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix last month as he replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari after the Spaniard underwent emergency surgery.

Antonelli is set to be handed his first experience in an Formula One car later this month as Mercedes look to prepare the the young Italian driver for a potential seat next year.

‘We want to give him the feeling of what a really good car looks like. And then we are going to put him in the 2022 car to see what the difference is,’ Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told F1 TV at the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday.

‘Mercedes claimed the constructors’ title with the F1 W12, while its successor only won one grand prix and the team slipped to third in the constructors’ standings.

‘I’m really keen and happy to see [Antonelli] in a F1 car. He’s been with us since he was 11.

‘I have a picture of him standing next to me on the center console as a baby boy in go karting and now to witness that development into a F1 driver is something that I’m really proud of.”

Antonelli will drive the Mercedes W12 – which Lewis Hamilton drove during the 2021 season where he infamously lost the chance to claim his 8th World Championship to Max Verstappen.

The two-day test will take place in Imola on April 16 and 17, with the teenager the looking to acclimatise himself to a F1 car as he aims to impress Mercedes and potentially earn Hamilton’s seat next year.

Here, Mail Sport dives into the latest motorsport prodigy.

Antonelli has been linked with filling Hamilton’s Mercedes seat in 2025, despite being just 17 years old

The Italian has been likened to current World Champion Max Verstappen, who won a seat in F1 aged just 19

Antonelli’s meteoric rise through the ranks

Antonelli was born in Bologna, Italy on August 25, 2006.

Aged just seven, he began his journey in karting which would eventually lead him to where he is today.

During his youth karting days Antonelli won a number of races including the South Garda Winter Cup, ROK Cup International Fina, WSK Euro Series and the WSK Super Master Series.

In 2019 he joined Mercedes Junior Programme off the back of his various titles and wins in the junior categories.

Wolff has long sung praise for the young Italian and signed him to the Mercedes Junior Programme in 2019

Antonelli is currently racing for Formula Two’s race team Prema

Two years later Antonelli made his single-seated debut in the fifth round of the 2021 Italian Formula 4 Championship, driving for Prema weeks after his 15th birthday.

In his debut race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria he scored four points was named the best rookie on the grid over the weekend.

Antonelli eventually moved up to Formula 4 on a full-time basis in 2022, storming to the ADAC and Italian titles in spectacular fashion with Prema after winning twice at Misano and three races at Spa-Francorchamps and Vallelunga respectively.

The teenager also won at the Red Bull Ring and triumphed at Monza, before securing the title by winning Race 1 at Mugello.

The following year, he moved to Formula Regional as a 16-year-old, winning the Middle East Championship with Mumbai Falcons and the European Championship with Prema.

Likened to a young Max Verstappen, Antonelli would emulate the three-time world champion if he were to secure a seat in Formula One before turning 20.

Verstappen famously made his debut in motorsport’s premier class aged 17 years and 166 days at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, become the youngest driver in Formula One’s history.

Motorsport runs in the family

Antonelli credits his father Marco for getting him involved in karting and race car driving.

The Mercedes prodigy’s father was also a racing diver and is currently the owner of the AKM Motorsport group that races in the Italian Formula 4 Championship.

Thanks to his father, Antonelli also shares his middle name with former Formula One star Kimi Raikkonen, the last driver to win the world title with Ferrari back in 2007.

The 17-year-old Italian driver credits his father for getting him involved in karting and race driving

Kimi’s father Marco Antonelli is also a racing driver and he currently owns the AKM motorsport outfit in the Italian F4 championship

Antonelli’s impressive track record

2024: F2 driver – Prema Racing and Mercedes Junior Team Driver

2023: Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine – Champion Formula Regional Middle East Championship certified by FIA – Champion

2022: Italian Formula 4 Championship – Champion ADAC Formula 4 Germany – Champion F4 United Arab Emirates Championship powered by Abarth – 8th (8 races)

2021: Italian Formula 4 Championship – 10th (9 races) FIA Central European Zone Formula 4 – 9th (2 races) Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F4 UAE Trophy Race – 3rd

2019: Mercedes Junior Team Driver

2014-21: Karting