Mercedes confirmed that Kimi Antonelli is replacing Lewis Hamilton. Despite smashing up the W15 car in his debut on Friday, he’s still landed the seat.
World champion Hamilton is off to Ferrari in 2025 so his seat was empty. Toto Wolff’s team announced the news at around 8am on Saturday ahead of FP3 and quali at the Italian Grand Prix. “Fantastico! @kimi.antonelli will make his F1 debut for the Team in 2025.”
READ MORE: Mercedes dealt HUGE blow after Italian Grand Prix crash
The F1 account on Instagram was the first to break the news, writing: “BREAKING: Andrea Kimi Antonelli to race for Mercedes from 2025!” It comes after Toto snubbed theories Kimi’s crash lost him the place after wrecking a F1 car in just 10 minutes.
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“He’s a rookie, he’s very young, we are prepared to invest into his future,” said Wolff. “I think a strong driver needs to recover from these things and cope with the pressure.” Lewis had warned him Kimi in a presser with the FIA on Thursday.
“For Kimi tomorrow it’s just about enjoying himself and having fun. It’s going to be an experience for him. He’s obviously been testing but tomorrow will be the first time testing this car, which is so much nicer than the 2022 car so he’s going to be all smiles tomorrow for sure. It’s a pretty drastic difference. The more information and input we get, the better.”
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