Oliver Bearman’s Ferrari Debut Paved Way for Kimi Antonelli, James Allison Drops Insights on Toto Wolff’s Protégé

The Formula 1 grid is going to have a huge shakeup in 2025. With the end of several of the drivers’ contracts with their existing teams, the F1 town is brimming with speculations on who might go where. A particularly interesting rumor involving Lewis Hamilton‘s seat at Mercedes claims it will go to the 17-year-old current F2 racer Kimi Antonelli. But the Italian is a complete rookie who has not yet had a Formula 1 test and he obviously lacks experience too.

Antonelli has been on the list of options for Mercedes ever since Lewis Hamilton announced his exit from the team. The Briton is going to appear in the legendary Ferrari red overalls next year as he agreed to a $100 million deal with the Maranello outfit. As a Mercedes junior since 2019, Kimi Antonelli has received the backing of Toto Wolff, the Team Principal of the Silver Arrows. This makes him the most probable choice for Hamilton’s seat in the 2025 season.

Despite being a clear winner in almost all the junior leagues, Kimi Antonelli’s possible recruitment by Mercedes is being questioned by those who are doubtful about his experience. As he will be stepping into the shoes of a seven-time World Champion with 103 Grand Prix wins, it may be wild to think that the 17-year-old will be able to match up. But what did Mercedes Technical Director James Allison say about hiring a young driver to fill up a potential race-winning seat?

James Allison says Mercedes might make a “huge ask” from Antonelli

The Drivers’ Market for 2025 currently has some big names such as Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon. Despite these Grand Prix winners, several reports suggest it is the 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli that Mercedes is going after. The team’s Technical Director gave his views on why he thinks hiring Antonelli is a good decision. On the ‘Beyond the Grid’ podcast, James Allison cited Oliver Bearman’s example since the rookie had replaced Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Arabian GP and finished seventh in the race thus becoming the youngest-ever racer to score points in his F1 debut.

James Allison said, “[Hiring 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli] is a huge ask. But I think, if the talent is there, it won’t matter. Whenever a rookie comes into Formula 1, that is a huge ask and yes, he will be young, and yes, that will put the pressures on his young shoulders but if you look at Ollie Bearman’s debut in Saudi, that is a difficult circuit and he was in that car in the last, last minute, and look at the way he has performed. If a driver has the temperament and the skill, he will step up to that task and all things point towards Kimi having those things.” The Briton also used Lewis Hamilton’s example to reminisce how people had said his F1 entry straight from GP2 was a huge ask but he later turned out to be a seven-time World Championship winner.

Lewis Hamilton once spoke about Mercedes’ hiring of Kimi Antonelli

At 39 years of age, Lewis Hamilton has earned record-breaking glory in F1 and he still shows no signs of slowing down. Perhaps this is why he decided to live out his dream of driving for Ferrari and took up a job with the Italian team. But he will be leaving a massive seat at Mercedes that several drivers will obviously covet for. But the Stevenage native has made his pick on whom he would want as his replacement.

Speaking to SkySports on Monaco, Lewis Hamilton said, “Honestly, I have no idea what Toto’s plans are, but for me, taking on a youngster, if it was my role, I would probably take on Kimi.” Thus, it seems Toto Wolff’s favored 17-year-old also has the blessing of Lewis to take on a role beside George Russell as the new Mercedes recruit for the team’s 2025 campaign. If Kimi Antonelli is to get a Formula 1 seat next year, he needs to attend a test drive in the king class of motorsports soon. Till now, no reports have revealed when the Italian youngster will debut in the cockpit of an F1 car. But an F1 pundit let out his opinions on how the Mercedes boss might be trying to secure a test for Kimi.

Do you think Toto Wolff should go to such lengths to see Kimi Antonelli in Hamilton’s seat next year, or should he go for a more experienced driver who has already won races in Formula 1? Let us know in the comments below.