Kimi Antonelli is relishing the opportunity of filling the "big seat" left by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 Formula One season. (More Motorsport News)
Antontelli was officially confirmed as Hamilton's successor in August and will race alongside🦂 George Russell next year for the German-based team.
In obtaining a seat on the grid for the upcoming season, the 18-year-old will be the first I𝐆talian driver in the competition since Antonio Giovinazzi raced for Alfa Romeo in 2021.
Antonelli sits sixth in the drivers' championship standings in F♓ormula Two, winning at Silverstone and the Hungaroring in July for Prema Racing.
He then mဣade his debut in FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes, and after sett꧂ing the fastest time on his first lap, crashed out on his second time around the Monza track.
That raised questions about Merced🐬es' decision to replace the experience of Hamilton wit♐h the youth of Antonelli, though the latter is focused on enjoying the ride in F1.
"Well, for sure, I'm taking a big seat," Antonelli told Stats Perfo👍rm at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.
"Obviously, I don't feel like I'm replac🧜ing him because he's been such a big figure, and he still is a big figure in the sport.
"So yeah, of course, it's an important seat, the one I'm taking, but I just see that I will take a Mercedes seat🃏 for next year, and I'm just going to enjoy the ride."
Throughout his careeꦛr, Antonelli has been supported by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who offered some guidance to the teenager following a tough qualifying session at Silverstone – a weekend in which he went on to take his debut victory i🉐n F2.
"Well, I feel I'm very lucky to be with him. I will consider 𒀰him like a second fath🌱er for me," Antonelli added.
"He's always been there in the difficult moments and, of course, in t💧he gre🔯at moments.
";He's such a great supporter, and I'm really happy because next year, of course, is goin🐈g to be a big ye𝓰ar for me.
"I have a lot of things to learn and to have his support, but also the support of the whole team is going to be really important, and🎃 I'm really looking forward to that."
Antonelli will line up alongside Russell, who ca🔯me through the ranks in F2 before joining Williams in 2019, and the youngster believes he can learn a lot from his soon-to-be team-mate.
"I haven't talked much with him because, obviously, he's very busy, he has a really tight schedule even during weekends, so 𓃲I don't really want to bother him as w🅘ell, but he's a really good driver, really fast, and I'm happy to have him next year because I can learn a lot from him," Antonelli said.
"I can l🦩earn especially on race pace because he has had good races as well, he's really good at managing the tyres, he also has speed and quality, so he's a pretty com🍸plete driver.
"It's good because next year I can learn a lot from h🌄im, and yeah, he just gave me a few pieces of advice but not much because, as I said before, he's pretty busy, and I don't really want to bother hi༺m.";
