Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes replacement Kimi Antonelli received SHOCK Ferrari snub

Antonelli ahead of practice at Monza — Photo: © IMAGO

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Hamilton's Mercedes replacement received SHOCK Ferrari snub

Kimi Antonelli will race for Mercedes in 2025

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Saturday 7 September 2024 22:00

Mercedes rising star Kimi Antonelli was snubbed by Ferrari earlier in his career, his father has revealed.

The 18-year-old Mercedes junior has been announced as Lewis Hamilton's permanent replacement at the Silver Arrows ahead of the seven-time champion's move to the Italian outfit next season.

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Antonelli has claimed several karting championships, alongside the Italian F4 and Formula Regional titles throughout his short career so far, and even bypassed Formula 3 to compete in Formula 2 in 2024.

Whilst the performance of his Prema has masked his ability, Antonelli has still produced two wins at Silverstone and Hungary in a bid to impress Mercedes bosses.

Kimi Antonelli achieved his first F2 victory at Silverstone

Does Kimi Antonelli have what it takes to step up to F1 in 2025?

Why did Ferrari not sign Kimi Antonelli?

The Italian star has been part of Mercedes’ Junior Team since 2019, however, some have questioned why Ferrari did not try and snatch him for their own junior program.

Antonelli would have been the ideal star for the Scuderia to raise and prepare for the senior team, not only due to his talent but also his nationality given he is Italian.

In an interview with Italian outlet Fanpage, his father Marco Antonelli revealed that Ferrari snubbed the young star earlier in his career.

"Absolutely not since he joined the Mercedes Academy,” Antonelli Sr said.

“He was racing with the Ferrari brand when he made his karting debut and at the time there was Massimo Rivola as head of the Ferrari Driver Academy who wanted to include him in the program straight away.

“But then they told him he was too young to make an assessment. That was the only time there was contact with Ferrari, so we're talking about before I received that call from Mercedes."

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Kimi Antonelli