Lewis Hamilton With the Ferrari contract, one of the hottest questions in the F1 pit now is who will drive as the second driver of top team Mercedes in 2025? Briton of George Russell the current contract extends until that year.
Hamilton and Mercedes formed a deafening dynasty from 2014 to 2020. During that period, Hamilton won no less than six of his seven drivers’ World Championship titles.
Hamilton was originally supposed to drive for Mercedes until the end of the 2025 season, but with the Ferrari news, the plans were suddenly changed.
There are hardly any star drivers like Hamilton on the current free market. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso still drives at a top level, but due to his windy history, he can be an unpredictable driver from Mercedes’ point of view.
Alternatives to consider are, for example, 27-year-olds Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon. Ocon, who now drives for Alpine, previously worked as a test driver for Mercedes.
Having driven for Mercedes for five seasons Valtteri Bottas, 34, name omitted. However, the career of the Finn, who has achieved ten races and 20 pole positions, is clearly on the decline at the moment.
Special driver badge
One of the most interesting names to replace Hamilton is only 17 years old Kimi Antonelli.
Kimi Räikkönen the named Italian has a reputation as a tough child star.
It says a lot about Antonelli’s talent that Mercedes took him to their young driver academy when he was only 11 years old. The results of the driving talent born in 2006 speak for themselves. Antonelli has won no less than four championships in a row in small formulas.
Antonelli shuddered by jumping two levels up to the F2 series for this season. Many considered the transition to the F3 class to be a natural path, but Mercedes has been seen to disagree.
With Hamilton’s Ferrari contract, many F1 fans started hyping Antonelli’s name on social media.
A few years ago I witnessed Antonelli’s driving at close range Toni Vilander confirms Italian exceptionalism. Vilander has driven for Ferrari for a long career in endurance car series and has worked as an F1 commentator for a long time.
– Antonelli’s achievements are amazing. When you enter a new class and immediately win the championship, it’s a sign that something special is involved, says Vilander, who currently comments on formulas for Viaplay.
“No limit”
Vilander saw Antonelli drive his first formula races in Monza a few years ago. He immediately stood out from the crowd of 30-40 drivers.
– It’s a really strict class. He came to Monza to drive, which is a really big jump for drivers used to karting.
– Antonelli drove in all the races of the weekend in the top places. If you come at the end of the season to see where the speed is enough and you are immediately at the top, it tells you that the starting level is immediately really high.
Formula 1 has seen several drivers under the age of 20 in recent years. In Vilander’s opinion, there is a clear reason for that.
– The test numbers of all young drivers are unfathomable. They may drive from 30 to 70 test days. There may be 200 or even 500 sets of tires. There is no limit and no sense in the number of young drivers produced.
– This leads to them being even more prepared. When I was driving in small formulas 25 years ago, there were twenty on both sides. We are now 15 years old.
At Verstappen’s pace
It has been thought that the 17-year-old Antonelli would drive in the F2 series for two years and in the F1 series for the first time in 2026. However, he has full potential to fight for the top positions in the F2 series this year. He drives for Prema, one of the top teams in the series.
– The seal to Formula One is that he wins the F2 championship, says Vilander.
Antonelli is compared to a superstar to Max Verstappen. It is therefore quite possible that Antonelli will drive as an F1 driver for Mercedes already next season, being only 18 years old.
– We are talking about the same style of talent. Verstappen came to Formula 1 also like Kim. He skipped many classes and came straight to formulas. Antonelli is in the same career development.
– He drove the GT series last year. He won the heats and all the starts. There is such an example that no matter what kind of equipment you put in, he will be fine.
However, the career path of highly promising drivers always has its own risks.
– There is always a small risk for young drivers if some area fails. It’s a bit like a young hockey player on the verge of super-professionalism. Although he is the number one reservation in the NHL, it does not mean that he plays a thousand games.
– But if that same streak continues, Antonelli will be in Formula One very quickly, Vilander adds.