Toto Wolff’s pet project Kimi Antonelli is slowly inching toward a Mercedes debut. The Italian prodigy came up on Wolff’s radar and got the opportunity to join the Silver Arrows as a junior driver in 2019. Now contesting as an F2 racer for Prema, Antonelli is one of the frontrunners for Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton‘s seat in the 2025 Merc campaign. Thus, every fan’s eyes are on the youngster to see how he fares and whom he sees as an inspiration.

Toto Wolff has all but expressed his preference for the 17-year-old to become the next Mercedes star. At one of the interviews, the Team Principal of the Stuttgart-based even said, “The criteria for our next driver are simple – we want the best driver available. At the moment, my first option is Kimi Antonelli.” And after winning the F2 Budapest Feature Race, the Italian prodigy has increased Wolff’s faith in him even further.

Now, it seems to be only a matter of time before Mercedes announces Kimi to be George Russell‘s 2025 teammate. So, fans wanted to know who inspired the young prodigy to excel at racing. The Prema recruit told them on a Formula 2 live video, “Of the current drivers, a driver I like a lot is [Max] Verstappen.” This goes in line with something Toto Wolff had said about the reigning World Champion, “No one is going to catch Max this season. His driving and the car are just spectacular.”

However, in the same live video, Kimi Antonelli has also claimed he looks up to another racer who is also Lewis Hamilton’s idol. So, who is it?

Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli look up to the same idol

The Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna is someone that Lewis Hamilton looks up to. At just 34, Senna had passed away while driving his Ferrari at the San Marino GP in 1994. But by then, he had already collected 3 World Championships. To this day, Senna goes on inspiring young aspiring racers. Speaking on Ayrton Senna, Lewis had once said, “Senna’s always in my heart. I’ve always followed him since I was a kid. He’s always been my favorite driver. So, whenever I drive, I always have him in spirit with me.”

Now, Kimi Antonelli might be joining Mercedes by taking up Lewis Hamilton’s place. Even though he is 22 years younger than the 7-time World Champion, he has the same F1 idol as the Briton. So, Antonelli said on his live chat with the fans on Instagram, “Favorite F1 driver? Well, he is my idol, he is Ayrton Senna.”

Now, the summer break has started in F1. And the countdown for all the teams to announce their line-ups for next year has also begun. With Carlos Sainz‘s announcement about him going to Williams, there are just 4 places left in the 2025 grid. Share your comments below if you think it is all but confirmed right now that Mercedes is going to give Hamilton’s seat to Lewis.