by Alex Johnston
Okay, this one is very close to overdue. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has one five titles since the beginning of 2022, including Italian F4, the FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup and of course this year's Formula Regional European Championship, all in scintillating fashion.
That's really just the tip of the iceberg for the Italian driver, who it appears is the real deal, capable of reaching the levels of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. As a Mercedes junior, he's just been announced as a FIA Formula 2 driver for PREMA Racing driver for 2024, 'skipping' FIA Formula 3 so to speak.
📸 Antonelli sealed the FRECA title at Zandvoort having gone from eighth to first in a matter of minutes in the wet.
Mercedes hold Antonelli in extremely high regard and the plan appears to be to fast track him to the top as a potential future candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton at the team. Big shoes to fill but it seems Antonelli is capable of adapting quickly to machinery and competition having stepped out of karts just over 2 years ago and comfortably competed in each series he's been in.
📸 Could Antonelli signal life after Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes?
At 17, it'd be zero surprise to see Antonelli test Formula 1 machinery pretty shortly after he turns 18 next August as Mercedes attempt to see just how well he can adapt to driving a car at the pinnacle of the racing ladder, and of course to see how can compete in F2 alongside his expected teammate, British hotshot Oliver Bearman as well as the other names expected to appear in F2 in 2024 such as Gabriel Bortoleto, Victor Martins, Kush Maini and Pepe Marti.
📸 Ollie Bearman, a Ferrari Driver Academy member, is expected to be Antonelli's F2 teammate in 2024.
At the rate he's so far developed you can guarantee that at least by 2026, he'll be a fixture on the F1 grid.
📸 Image credits: PREMA Racing, Formula Motorsport Limited, Mercedes AMG F1 Team.
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