Mercedes protégé Andrea Kimi Antonelli will reportedly kick off his F1 driver improvement programme with the Brackley squad in Austria later this month.
In response to Motorsport.com, the Prema F2 charger will get pleasure from his maiden F1 check on the Purple Bull Ring on April 16 as a part of a two-day acclimatization check carried out on the wheel of a 2021-spec silver arrow W12.
Antonelli is ready for a number of check outings with Mercedes this 12 months in a bid to speed up his improvement and assess his readiness for F1.
The German outfit has but to resolve who will fill Lewis Hamilton’s coveted seat for 2025 and maybe past following the seven-time world champion’s resolution to maneuver to Ferrari subsequent season.
A number of drivers have been linked to the plum drive together with Antonelli, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and even Max Verstappen himself on account of the latest turmoil at Purple Bull Racing.
Antonelli’s efficiency this 12 months – each in F2 and in F1 testing – will probably be essential in figuring out if he is able to make the soar, both with Mercedes or maybe with one of many producer’s buyer groups.
There’s additionally the potential for the 17-year-old staying in F2 for a second season, particularly since he skipped Components 3 completely after a dominant marketing campaign within the 2023 Components Regional European Championship.
Later this month in Austria, Andrea Kimi Antonelli will get pleasure from his maiden F1 check, on the wheel of a 2021-spec Mercedes W12.
Whereas Mercedes has made clear that it’s dedicated to grooming Antonelli for F1, crew boss Toto Wolff has stated that the crew will take its time to designate Hamilton’s successor alongside George Russell.
“We bought that curveball thrown at us, with Lewis, to start with of February,” he famous. “I wish to do the other when selecting the motive force for subsequent 12 months.
“There are a lot of superb drivers in F1 accessible for subsequent 12 months,” he identified. “That is all going to come back into the equation when deciding on the motive force line-up for subsequent 12 months, however that’s not going to occur anytime quickly.”
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