One of the candidates to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes will get a chance to impress, with Kimi Antonelli reportedly taking part in a two-day private test in the front car in mid-April.
Reported by a 17-year-old boy. Motorsport.com Having stepped up to F2 this season, he has been given the opportunity to test an F1 car by the team and will be behind the wheel at the Red Bull Ring on April 16th and 17th.
Kimi Antonelli to undergo F1 testing in mid-April
The Italian teenager is set to drive a 2021 Mercedes W12 as part of the TPC to familiarize himself with modern F1 cars, according to multiple reports. [Testing of Previous Cars] program.
Antonelli recently made his F2 debut with Prema in Bahrain and the slot remains open as F2 racing will not resume until he takes part in the Emilia Romagna GP support schedule in May.
His results have improved steadily since the opening race, and he took fourth place in the final feature race in Melbourne, where he was getting accustomed to his new category.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed that the highly-rated teenager is one of the candidates to replace Hamilton when he leaves next season, but the driver market remains uncertain about top target Max Verstappen's future at Red Bull. He admitted that it depends on whether he makes such a decision.
Wolff is keen to put as little pressure as possible on Antonelli, with the Italian not even eligible to race full-time in F1 until his 18th birthday in late August.
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Asked about Mercedes' next driver, Wolff told Fox Sports Australia: “Unless Max decides to leave, we have the only spot available in the first team. If that happens, our spot will be empty. No,” he said.
“There are some very interesting options for us, from very young talent to very experienced seniors. It’s not like it’s going to happen in the next few weeks or months…I think we’ll continue to look at the market. I would like to keep an eye on it.
“[Russell’s] Bank. He's been in that seat and been a part of our junior program for a long time. The reason is that I'm in the second seat because I'm great.
“I think it depends on what Max does. And then we have young kids. [Antonelli] That's very promising and I don't want to put any more pressure on him, but he looks like he could be one of the great players.
“But we also don't want to quickly jump into an F1 car with a 17-year-old and drown him. So there are several options for us to work with him. Obviously there's Fernando. [Alonso] Very exciting person, and Carlos. [Sainz] very good. So there are a few. I'm going to play like a bride – hard to come by!
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