Red Bull Ring becomes host to F2 driver to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

summary

  • Lewis Hamilton is set to join Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season.
  • In search of a new driver, Toto Wolff has shortlisted an F2 driver from Prema Racing to replace the Briton.

Mercedes’ long-term partnership with Lewis Hamilton ends after the end of the 2024 season. The Silver Arrows will need to find a replacement to fill Hamilton’s seat before the end of the current season.

Mercedes has a history of putting legendary drivers such as Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in their seats. However, Toto Wolff has shown an interest in an F2 driver who goes with Andera Kimi Antonelli to replace the Briton for the 2025 season.

Toto has previously spoken about how the car’s poor performance makes Kimi Antonelli an attractive option. Toto believes that the rookie driver can understand the car better by taking the pressure off a team around him to improve their performance.

Before the rookie is promoted to F1, the driver will spend a whole season behind the wheel of an older Mercedes f1 car to get used to a faster car.

Where and in what car is Kimi Antonelli set to take his first F1 test?

Kimi Antonelli has come a long way in the open-wheel racing series. The driver thrived in F4 with multiple wins in Italian and German F4. And in 2023 managed to win both the Formula Middle East and European championships before moving to F2 in 2024.

Now, after a year in F1, the junior driver has the chance to move to F1 as partner of Geroge Russell. Before starting the season directly, the Italians need some experience with F1 cars. The driver is set to get his first experience of an F1 car on the Austrian Red Bull Racing track.

The high-speed circuit with 10 turns will be an ideal location for the Italian to learn about the car and get a hands-on feel. Andrea Kimi Antonelli will take the W12 for testing on April 16-17. Although the FIA ​​allows current regulation cars for testing, it must be at least 2 years old.

However, the driver will take an older vehicle. The W12 was the last car to win the Mercedes Constructors’ Championship. Toto wants young drivers to feel what a good car feels like compared to current cars that are underperforming under the new rules.

Toto said, “What a really cool car looks like”, to add,”[The test] There’s going to be a 2021 car, we want to give him a sense of what a really good car looks like.”

The tests are a good place for Antonelli to understand the performance of an F1 car and to prove that he is the right choice to replace the legendary Lewis Hamilton.

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