Lewis Hamilton replacement poised for Mercedes F1 debut as Max Verstappen hopes fade

Lewis Hamilton is poised to switch to red as he departs Mercedes for Ferrari.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the driver widely regarded as the favourite to replace Lewis Hamilton for the F1 2025 season, is reportedly set to make his Mercedes F1 debut in practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

Antonelli is increasingly likely to be named as Hamilton‘s successor for F1 2025, with reports from Italy earlier this month claiming a deal has been reached for the teenage sensation to become George Russell’s new Mercedes team-mate.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli set to replace Lewis Hamilton for Monza FP1

Earlier this year, Hamilton revealed his decision to join Ferrari next season on a multi-year contract, marking an end to his extensive and successful partnership with Mercedes. This association dates back to the commencement of his F1 career with McLaren in 2007.

Mercedes has consistently been associated with a bold move to acquire Max Verstappen, the current three-time World Champion, in recent months. Toto Wolff, the team boss, has openly expressed his interest in signing the Red Bull driver.

However, a report by Dutch publication De Telegraaf on Wednesday claimed that Mercedes decided to postpone their pursuit of Verstappen over the recent summer break.

Mercedes have abandoned their bid to sign Max Verstappen for 2025, reports claim.https://t.co/QWQ5OQYLvv#F1 #Mercedes #MaxVerstappen pic.twitter.com/GewPDG5cxo

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) August 21, 2024

It is still uncertain if the team will reignite their interest in Verstappen before the significant regulation changes in F1 in 2026.

It is anticipated that Mercedes will soon confirm the signing of Antonelli before the Italian Grand Prix. Reports indicate that the teenager is poised to make his debut at an official F1 race weekend at Monza.

A report by Motorsport.com has claimed that Antonelli will drive Hamilton’s car in the opening practice session in Italy as Mercedes meet the requirement to run a rookie driver in two FP1 sessions across the season.

The decision to put Antonelli in Hamilton’s car at Monza is reportedly aimed at providing him with the experience of collaborating with Pete Bonnington, Hamilton’s longtime race engineer.

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On Tuesday, PlanetF1.com reported that Bonnington has been immediately promoted to the position of head of race engineering. Despite his promotion, he will still maintain a close working relationship with Hamilton for the remaining 10 races of the F1 2024 season.

Bonnington is anticipated to continue as a race engineer for one of Mercedes’ drivers, probably Antonelli, in F1 2025. Meanwhile, Marcus Dudley is serving as the race engineer for George Russell, a position he assumed last year.

Antonelli, widely considered a future star, began an extensive F1 testing program earlier this year in anticipation of a probable grand prix promotion. He took the helm of Mercedes’ 2021 and 2022 cars at various circuits, including Imola, Silverstone, the Red Bull Ring, and Spa.

Reportedly, Bonnington was present to supervise Antonelli’s progress in a Pirelli tyre test after the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa in July.

Antonelli has emerged as a strong contender in the F2 series (formerly GP2), a prestigious F1 feeder series previously won by Hamilton and Russell, after a sluggish beginning to his season. He has recently gained significant victories in Britain and Hungary.

As the F1 2024 season resumes at Zandvoort, Antonelli will celebrate his 18th birthday on Sunday.

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