One of the issues relating to current Formula One concerns the name of replacement for Lewis Hamilton. The British ruined any plan of the forty-eight Mercedesterminating in advance the contract (just renewed) with the Stuttgart company to move to the Ferrari from 2025.
Therefore, the three-pointed star finds itself in need of replacing the Englishman (the cornerstone of the silver line-up since 2013), with at least one year in advance with respect to the projects. The name on everyone’s lips is that of Andrea Kimi Antonelliconsidered by some to be the designated heir of Black King in the Mercedes sector.
We start from the assumption that, so far, the Hamilton shark he devoured all the dolphins, more or less credible, inserted into its territorial waters. Ask Pascal Wehrlein or Esteban Ocon for clarification on this matter. Nonetheless, the seven-time World Champion is about to change hunting areamoving from the English Channel to the Mediterranean.
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His successor could arrive from the Mediterranean, although Antonelli is currently a rookie in Formula 2, where he has started in an encouraging way (to be clear, he is overshadowing teammate Oliver Bearman, who received much acclaim for his one-off replacement for Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia). The Italian teenager – who turns 18 in August – still has to “eat a lot of pasta”.
Rushing the times, unless there is a “crack” in the cadet category, it could even be counterproductive. Yet, in Stuttgart, they will have to do something at a time when they are not very attractive. The economic power is not in question, but tying oneself to Mercedes at this moment represents a real one wager.
The team may have dominated the scene from 2014 to 2021, but with the current technical regulations it is in great difficulty and you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Indeed, the more time passes, the more competitiveness of the Silver Arrows it seems get worse.
Attracting a worthy replacement for Hamilton is not easy, you have to convince him with euros. There’s no shortage of those, but whoever runs the business might also start to wonder if it’s worth carrying out millionaire investment on a fallback choicewhen you know you have a purebred foal in his own stable, albeit yet to wean.
Evaluations that belong to those responsible. Probably, any choice in this regard will be based on the evolution of Antonelli’s season. No one would have ever thought of seeing him in F1 already in 2025 and the scenario remains unlikely. However, three months ago, who would have imagined that Lewis Hamilton – in 2025 – would run with Ferrari?
