Six reasons Mercedes chose Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton in F1

Mercedes has picked a ROOKIE to replace Lewis Hamilton in its F1 team next season – and he’s already crashed BIG TIME on his public debut.

We’ve had an immediate demonstration of the risk and reward that comes with Mercedes making Kimi Antonelli the successor to F1’s most decorated driver in 2025.

It’s not every day you get to see a potential F1 megastar’s public debut, but that’s precisely what we got at the Italian Grand Prix, where Antonelli drove his 2025 team-mate George Russell’s car in Friday practice - and crashed heavily.

The very next day, Mercedes announced Antonelli would race for the team next season. Quite the rollercoaster 24 hours for the 18-year-old Italian.

00:00 Looking beyond speculation and hype
01:15 Mercedes will accept mistakes
02:41 Searing speed
04:34 Not ready... but he will be
06:34 No repeat of Russell mistake
08:16 The Hamilton/Verstappen factors
09:59 How he's dealing with pressure

Thanks to @Italiansupercarvideo for the Imola testing footage ????

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