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ZANDVORT, Netherlands: Mercedes will give Andrea Kimi Antonelli his first Formula One practice session at next Friday’s Grand Prix on Italian soil at Monza, team boss Toto Wolff said.
Antonelli, who celebrated his 18th birthday on Sunday, is expected to replace seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes seat when he moves to Ferrari at the end of the season.
“We will do the first free practice with Kimi at Monza and it will be an emotional moment because we have followed him since he was 11 years old, as a baby kart driver with a Mercedes racing kit, and we are proud to be in the garage,” the Austrian driver told reporters at Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort.
“To see him in FP1 on Friday in Monza, driving a competitive car in front of the fans, an Italian kid – I think it will be something that everyone in Italy will be very proud of and I will move on from there.”
Antonelli is racing in Formula 2 but has also privately tested with Mercedes in older Formula 1 cars.
Technical director James Allison said in May that the young driver was very fast and had shown “metronome-like” pace in testing.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, now a three-time world champion, made his F1 debut in 2015 at the age of 17, and Mercedes believes Antonelli could be another generational talent.
Wolff has ruled out racing in Italy this season amid speculation he might try out for Mercedes’ Williams team, which has already named a replacement for Logan Sargent for 2025 and could drop the American before then.
Sargent suffered a heavy crash on Saturday and has yet to score points this year.
“I had a very transparent dialogue and relationship with Williams boss James,” Wolff said of his former Mercedes colleague. “James was involved in the development and discovery of Kimi.
“I think the best thing for him (Antonelli) is to continue with the project that we have designed… and see how it goes, rather than disrupt our plans and give him a chance at Williams. That’s the decision we made.”
Wolff says Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher still wants to return to Formula 1 after being dropped by Haas and deserves to race with Williams.
“I hope very much that Mick gets the chance because we haven’t seen the real Mick yet,” the Austrian said. “If the opportunity comes with Williams, we will cheer for it.”
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