After 3 months without Formula 1, the top category is back and with it, the news and rumours. Italian driver Kimi Antonelli has been the talk of the town, having had a very successful season in both the Middle East Regional Formula and the European Regional Formula, from which he will move directly to Formula 2.
Many eyes have been on the 17-year-old since former F1 driver Karun Chandhok claimed that F3 mechanics told him they hadn’t seen such a talent since Max Verstappen came through the category. Even Williams Team Principal, James Vowles said that from a very young age, the driver in question has proved to be an out-and-out performer:
“When you’re looking after a junior who’s 11 you have no idea that they’re going to be incredible, or perhaps good, great or average. But with him you could see early on in the F4 days that he was developing exceptionally well. So much so that we questioned whether or not there was something else going on at the time.”
There has been much speculation since Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes to join the Maranello-based team, and among that speculation is, of course, Antonelli’s arrival to the German team.
The Brackley Team Principal, Toto Wolff suggested that, in order to replace the seven-time champion, they could make an outside of the box move: “Maybe it’s a chance to do something bold.”
However, despite being confident that the now Prema driver has a promising future in F1, the Austrian says he wants to make a pondered decision as to who will be Russell’s team-mate: “We’ve got that curveball thrown at us with Lewis in the beginning of February, and I want to do the opposite when choosing the driver for next year.”
Aware that the season is not yet underway, Wolff pointed out that he does not want to put pressure on the youngster and that, right now, there are many talented drivers on the grid who could take Hamilton’s place.
So, he concluded that he has to wait for a bit further in the season to see how things develop, as everything will play an important role in deciding the replacement for the seven-time champion:
“It’s clear Kimi has been in our in our junior academy since he was 11. And we have great pleasure in watching him grow as a young man and growing through the ranks”
“But I also want to take a little bit of pressure off him. He’s 17, he’s just been 17. He’s won everything he needed to win in his rookie [FRECA] season, and I think he is going to be in F1. He is going to be a very, very successful driver in F1.”
“But he hasn’t started his F2 campaign yet. They had a difficult test in the first days in Bahrain, and we shall see how this develops. And that’s why I want to wait for the first few races that are actually overlaying with F1 are going to go.”
“There’s many very good pilots in F1 available for next year also, and this is all going to come into the equation when deciding on the driver line-up for next year, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
Of course, due to the nature of the relationship between Mercedes and Williams, the Italian has been linked to the Grove based team. James Vowles, who is familiar with the Bologna native, however, while claiming to have no doubts that Antonelli will make it to the top flight, cast doubt on his arrival at the Frank Williams-founded team: “From my perspective, I have no doubt that Kimi will be in F1. He’s done incredibly well in his junior series. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be in Williams, necessarily.”
While on the topic, the Felbridge native added he is extremely grateful for the three junior drivers followed by the Williams Driver Academy: Zak O’Sullivan and Franco Colapinto in F2 and Luke Browning in F3.
Vowles said that while he is willing to invest in new talent, joining the team has to be based on merit: “I believe in investing in youth. But I’ll take people on merit into the organisation. I’m fortunate enough to have two juniors myself in F2, and one in F3. “
He also commented that a development programme for young drivers is being built: “So we are starting to build what I think is a sensible programme to develop the next generation of drivers.“
Vowles anticipated that at this stage, it is a matter of seeing how the situation evolves in the first part of the 2024 season and suggested he might have to wait for Wolff to make a decision first on who will be joining Mercedes for 2025:
“In the case of Toto, he’s in the position that you would hope. He’s one of, if not the best, team on the grid, with a range of options available to him. So, from my perspective, it’s more about looking what happens going forward.”
“I have Alex here next year under contract and I have Logan obviously under contract as well, along with juniors, so it’s just a question of seeing how everything plays out across the next six months.”
The first GP of 2024 will take place on the 1st-3rd of March in Bahrain and will be the start of a season in which many driver moves are expected to happen.
So, Kimi Antonelli might not be the only one who will have to wait a few months to find out his future.
