The youngest of Formula 1's rookie class, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is facing the daunting task of replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes , but the team is confident some of the attributes that made him stand out in karting will help him ease into the seat.

Born in 2006, the year Fernando Alonso won his second world championship, Antonelli will be F1's youngest driver on the 2025 grid after being prepared to replace Ferrari-bound Hamilton.

Antonelli was picked up by Mercedes as an 11-year-old in go-karting and under the guise of Mercedes' driver development advisor Gwen Lagrue the Italian continued his march through the European karting scene.

Soon after his 15th birthday Antonelli switched to cars in the 2021 Italian F4 championship, leading to dual titles the following year in Italy

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