Formula 2 Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli walks down the paddock at the Monza Circuit ahead of the Italy's Formula One Grand Prix at Monza, northern Italy, on August 29, 2024. Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli will step up to Formula One next season and replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, the team announced on August 31, 2024. Antonelli, who turned 18 on August 25, will partner George Russell, another product of the team's junior programme, after Hamilton moves to Ferrari after this year. - AFP
MONZA, Italy (AFP): Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be thrown in at the deep end next year after Mercedes announced on Saturday that the Italian teenager will replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes once the seven-time world champion jumps ship for Ferrari.
Rookie Antonelli, who celebrated his 18th birthday last weekend, will partner George Russell as he attempts what he called the "impossible" task of stepping in for F1 icon Hamilton.
