After a 2024 which, for the first time in over 70 years of Formula 1, saw no changes on the grid, 2025 will bring with it new faces. After the weekend in Jeddah with Ferrari, Oliver Bearman will become a full time pilot for Haas. In all likelihood, the British teenager won't be the only rookie. Jack too Doohan (Alpine) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) now seem to be just waiting for the official announcement. According to what Formu1a.uno reported, the long-awaited signature of the Italian driver has arrived, but for the official confirmation we await the Italian Grand Prix, in Monza.
For the first time since Antonio Giovinazzi, therefore, Italy seems about to return to Formula 1. The young driver from Bologna has already taken an important step from Formula Regional to Formula 2 (where he won two races in the last three weekends) this year and is ready to do another one, towards Mercedes.
Kimi Antonelli, Toto Wolff's protégé
Pools Wolff always saw his talent, making him join the Academy as early as 2019 when Antonelli was still racing karts. The Austrian manager has never forgiven himself for letting Max get away Verstappen when he was the same age and for this reason he wants to put Antonelli in the Mercedes immediately.
Un calculated risk, as Wolff himself defined it. “2025 will be a transition year and would be excellent for his debut, if we also look at Piastri's progress at McLaren. In F2 I don't care if he wins races but he shows that he learns from mistakes, both on and off the track, in the relationship he has with the team. What really matters is the data we are seeing in the tests".
Test in which Antonelli is proving ready for the big leap, also convincing the Mercedes engineers. In this regard, Peter Bonnington (“Bono”, Lewis Hamilton's race engineer”) is the number one favorite to become the his race engineer, having already worked with him in the recent Spa tests. By now, therefore, Lewis Hamilton's desire to bring "Bono" with him to Ferrari has faded.
SOURCE STATEMENTS: Formu1aUno.it
