MANAMA – Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli will one day be in Formula One but Mercedes want to see how he fares in Formula Two before deciding on the next step, team boss Toto Wolff said on Feb 21.

The 17-year-old is considered a contender for the seat that will become vacant when seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton leaves Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025.

Wolff said earlier in February that Hamilton’s departure could be a chance for a bold move, hinting that he could be looking at Antonelli to fill the Briton’s shoes.

“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,” Wolff told reporters during pre-season testing in Bahrain.

“It’s clear Kimi has been in our junior academy since he was 11... 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 just 17, he’s won everything he needed to win in his rookie seasons and I think he’s going to be in Formula One.

“He’s going to be a very, very successful driver in Formula One. But he hasn’t started his Formula Two campaign yet.”

The Austrian added that there was also a long list of drivers in Formula One who could be available for 2025, with no decision likely any time soon.

Mercedes placed George Russell at Williams to gain experience before he graduated to become Hamilton’s teammate and Williams are now run by Wolff’s former strategy chief James Vowles.

Vowles was one of those who made the decision to hire Antonelli for the Mercedes junior programme, but he warned against assuming the Italian would follow Russell’s example.

“I have no doubt that Kimi will be in Formula One. He’s done incredibly well in his junior series. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be in Williams necessarily,” he said, echoing Wolff’s words.

“I’m fortunate enough to have two juniors myself in F2 and F3... so we’re starting to build a programme to develop the next generation of drivers.”

Vowles also said that current drivers Alex Albon, who could be a target for other teams including Mercedes and Red Bull, and Logan Sargeant, were both under contract.

“It’s just a question of seeing how everything plays out across the next six months,” he added.

Meanwhile, Russell has declared that Mercedes’ new Formula One car is nicer to drive than last season’s tricky offering after racking up 122 laps at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit on the opening day of testing on Feb 21.

“From hitting the ground it felt like we had a good foundation to start from. We completed lots of laps and have plenty of data to go through tonight.

“We ended the day in a reasonably good spot and we can build from here over the next two days,” said the Briton, who ended the day 12th.

“Overall the W15 does feel nicer to drive than last year’s car. But we know that it’s not about the feeling, but the speed.

“Nevertheless, today was about learning and not about chasing performance.” REUTERS, AFP