Kimi Antonelli speaks out after taking massive step towards replacing Lewis Hamilton
Kimi Antonelli moved closer to a spot on the F1 grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli has insisted that he is still not thinking about replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next year, despite claiming his first Formula Two feature race win and his second victory in as many race weekends on Sunday.
Heading into the Silverstone weekend last time out, questions were being asked about Antonelli’s true talent level following a difficult start to the season. The Italian starlet responded by claiming a dominant sprint race victory in a weather-affected race around the iconic circuit.
Then, after losing another sprint race victory due to poor strategy at the Hungaroring on Saturday, Antonelli claimed a sensational maiden feature race triumph, climbing from seventh on the grid to beat Victor Martins and Richard Verschoor to the top step of the podium.
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This result will go a long way to calming some of the nerves sparked by Antonelli’s challenging F2 rookie campaign to date, and will only bolster his chances of securing the second seat at Mercedes next season alongside George Russell.
However, despite all of the hype, Antonelli is staying calm. "I don't want to think about next year, because nothing is official,” he said after his feature race win. “I don't know anything, to be honest. Getting two victories in F2 is good from a psychological point of view, after a difficult start to the season."
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He then added: “F1? I don't know if I would be ready honestly. I'm still making some mistakes, I'm learning. It's good to have Bearman as a partner though, I can learn a lot about him having missed F3, especially on the warm-up."
Toto Wolff has a strong understanding of the challenges that Antonelli and Prema are facing in 2024. He explained: "F2 is so difficult this year because the car... you can see that him and Bearman are struggling a lot with the car and he isn't happy with his driving and not [having] the pace in the race.
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"But seeing him on Saturday [at Silverstone] walking over the water, at times two seconds quicker than everybody else, you can see the talent and the ability and the potential this young guy has. Winning that race I think took a lot of weight off his shoulders."
As long as Max Verstappen remains available, Antonelli’s future will not be confirmed, but with every passing weekend, Mercedes’ confidence in the crown jewel of their driver academy is growing. Sunday’s win could be the final step on the ladder that the 17-year-old needs.
