TOTO WOLFF has hailed young Italian prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli as one of the sport’s hottest prospects.
The Mercedes team principal is adamant that the junior driver has a “bright future” in racing.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been hailed as a future star of F1
Toto Wolff has been full of praise for the junior driver
Born in Bologna, just 40km from the Imola circuit, Antonelli is only 16 but already has an impressive array of performances under his belt.
The young driver won the WSK Euro Series and Super Master Series titles in the OK Junior category in 2018.
He also finished runner-up in the FIA Karting European Championship and came fifth in the World Championship before moving up to the OK class where he also found success.
In 2021 Antonelli made his debut in single-seaters for Prema Racing in the Italian F4 Championship, only three weeks after turning 15.
There, the youngster rapidly worked his way to the top, bagging podium finishes in the final three races.
Returning for another year, Antonelli dominated the F4 series in 2022, winning both the ADAC and Italian titles with Prema.
This year the driver will step up again and compete in the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA), and is preparing for a potential move up F3 during 2024.
His string of racing success attracted the attention of Mercedes, and the German team decided to give Antonelli a place on their driver academy programme in 2019.
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The same programme helped current British star George Russell progress to Formula One, as well as Esteban Ocon, who now drives for Alpine.
Antonelli will be hoping to make a similar progression to the pinnacle of the sport.
George Russell made his debut with Williams in 2019, but returned to Wolff and the Mercedes team last year
Antonelli will be hoping to copy the likes of Russell and make his way into F1
Speaking to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, Wolff was full of praise for young driver.
He said: “Since working together, Kimi has ticked all the boxes.
“But not only that, I really like him as a boy, and as a personality, and he has a fantastic family environment around him that helps him always keep his feet on the ground.
“He has a great talent and can count on the important values that come from his family.
The 16-year-old has impressed with his performances in F4
“Kimi is still in the early stages of his journey, and I think he has a bright future ahead of him that will be his if he keeps taking it one step at a time.
“Besides, it’s just lovely for me to work with him and his father, two people who have their feet firmly on the ground.”
However, it will be another few years before Antonelli can join the F1 grid, as the minimum age for drivers is now set at 18-years-old.
