Mercedes tabs 18-year-old Antonelli as Hamilton's replacement

Eighteen-year-old prodigy Kimi Antonelli will drive for Mercedes in 2025, taking Lewis Hamilton's seat.

"Kimi has consistently shown the talent and speed needed to compete at the very top of our sport," team principal Toto Wolff said in a statement Saturday. "We know it will be another big step up, but he has impressed us in his F1 testing this year, and we will be supporting him every step of the way in the learning process."

Antonelli said it's "not possible" to replace Hamilton, who shocked the series before the season by announcing a switch to Ferrari in 2025, ending a 12-year run with the Silver Arrows.

"He's such a great figure in the sport of today, and he has achieved so much in his career, so I don't want to be seen as his replacement," the teenage driver said, according to Formula 1 journalist Adam Cooper. "I'm just the next driver for Mercedes in '25."

Antonelli, who just turned 18 on Aug. 25, will become the third-youngest driver to participate in a Formula 1 race when the 2025 season begins on March 16 with the Australian Grand Prix. The Italian driver will only trail Max Verstappen (17 years, five months, 15 days) and Lance Stroll (18 years, four months, 26 days).

Antonelli has been part of Mercedes' junior team since 2019. He has garnered recognition as one of the most promising teenage prospects since Verstappen as he's progressed through karting and junior open-wheel series.

He'll also have the opportunity to beat Verstappen's record of youngest race winner in Formula 1 history if he wins any of the first three Grand Prix races of 2025. Verstappen was 18 years, seven months, and 15 days old when he won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

The teenager won championships in Italian F4 and ADAC F4 in 2022 before winning the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and Formula Regional European Championship in 2023. Antonelli skipped F3 entirely, moving to F2 in 2024. Driving for Prema, he's seventh in the championship with two wins.

Mercedes has been ramping up Antonelli's development; he did private tests in the W12 and W13 car earlier this season before participating in FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Friday. However, Antonelli crashed just minutes into his official debut.

Mercedes was also linked to Verstappen before selecting Antonelli to fill Hamilton's vacancy.