Mercedes academy driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is eyeing a spot on the F1 grid for 2025. But there are two very different scenarios for his arrival.
Antonelli has made a steady start to his Formula 2 career and will enter round four of the championship in Imola next month ninth in the championship. But he’ll be expected to mount a charge soon enough.
Mercedes believe that the 17-year-old can be as good as Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc. And Karun Chandhok says engineers have been blown away by his talent too.
But, as Nico Rosberg points out, it would still be a huge risk for Toto Wolff to promote him straight to the top team. And that’s even before you consider he’d be replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli is very much a contender for the drive and Mercedes will give him time to prove his readiness. He’s already begun a programme testing in their old machinery.
If they decide that 2025 comes too soon, then they could look to secure him a seat at the other end of the grid with Williams instead. George Russell, of course, spent three years at Grove before graduating.
James Vowles may require an incentive to greenlight any deal, perhaps in the form of a discount on the Mercedes power unit. But the former Silver Arrows strategist is a big fan of Antonelli, so it could be mutually beneficial.
Logan Sargeant, who has struggled since making his F1 debut at the start of last year, is approaching the end of his contract. There has even been talk that he could lose his seat to Antonelli at the Italian Grand Prix in September.
Williams could turn to known quantity if they miss out on Kimi Antonelli
According to Formula Passion, Williams could look to a familiar face if they can’t call upon Antonelli for 2025. Alex Albon is under contract, so the question is around the identity of his teammate.
And there’s a chance that Valtteri Bottas could be the man to partner him. Bottas spent the first four years of his F1 career at Williams between 2013 and 2016.
His future at Sauber is uncertain after the team signed Nico Hulkenberg from Haas. If the team decide to axe him, then he has two realistic options.
One of those is to take Hulkenberg’s seat at the American team, though that may be reserved for Ferrari youngster Oliver Bearman. There could still be a vacancy if Kevin Magnussen doesn’t continue with Ayao Komatsu’s squad.
And the other route is to go back to Williams. Antonelli ‘could land’ there if Wolff isn’t ‘convinced’, so it may be a waiting game for Bottas as the Austrian mulls things over.
Valtteri Bottas is out of contract at the end of the year
Bottas’ Sauber deal runs out at the end of 2024, and the same can be said for teammate Zhou Guanyu. That could put the two drivers in a straight fight for the seat alongside Hulkenberg.
But there’s also a chance that neither of them stays on. Audi, who are buying 100% of the team, are determined to sign Carlos Sainz.
And even if the Spaniard ultimately rejects them, they have other targets in mind too. They could pursue Sergio Perez if he leaves Red Bull, or approach Alpine driver Esteban Ocon.
For Bottas, now 34, a move to Williams could appeal. He knows Vowles well from their time together at Mercedes and it wouldn’t be a step down.
They finished two spots ahead of Sauber in last year’s standings, and while neither team has scored a point so far in 2024, Williams have bagged better results. Besides, the Finn can’t really afford to be picky if he wants to continue in F1.
Both driver and team will have fond memories of their first spell together. It was there Bottas made a name for himself, earning a move to world champions Mercedes in 2017.
He would win 10 races during his time at Brackley, with Hamilton describing him as a ‘standout’ driver. He’d return to Williams with 67 career podiums and 20 pole positions under his belt too.
After a messy, accident-ridden start to the season, Vowles may favour a more experienced, calmer hand. For all his talent, signing Antonelli would carry considerably more risk.
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