Intriguing Kimi Antonelli update issued with Mercedes implications by leading F1 correspondent
Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Amidst reports Williams have sought dispensation to race the under-aged Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Lawrence Barretto says if the team does consider the Mercedes junior it will be for 2025, not the next race in Imola.
As Logan Sargeant out-qualified Alex Albon for the first time in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, a report began to do the rounds that a team had lodged a dispensation request with the FIA to grant Antonelli a Super Licence before his 18th birthday.
No Imola drive for Kimi Antonelli but he could race for Williams in 2025
As the Mercedes junior does not turn 18 until the Sunday of the Dutch Grand Prix he would need special dispensation from motorsport’s governing body to race as F1 has a minimum age limit of 18.
The team responsible for lodging the request was not named, but PlanetF1.com understands it was not Mercedes.
That had all eyes in the paddock turning towards the Williams garage as in the past Antonelli has been mentioned as a possible replacement for the under-fire Sargeant. It’s even been said it could happen before the end of this season.
Friday’s FIA dispensation request implies it could even happen as soon as Imola.
But according to F1 correspondent Barretto, if Williams do look to Antonelli, it will only be next season.
“Chatted to Williams boss James Vowles, he says Kimi Antonelli won’t be in the car in Imola,” Barretto wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“The team are talking to four or five drivers about a race seat for next year – but he’s not in a rush to decide. Says any deal would be two years, for 2025 and 2026.”
A two-year deal for Antonelli opens the door for Carlos Sainz, who reportedly turned down Audi in the hope of securing either the Mercedes or Red Bull race seat, to race for the Brackley squad for two years before then moving to Audi when Antonelli steps up to Mercedes.
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Williams team boss quizzed on the Sargeant/Antonelli rumours
Vowles was quizzed on Antonelli replacing Sargeant on Friday in Miami where the team boss took the pressure off Sargeant by saying there is “nothing on the radar at the moment” about replacing him.
He, though, did not confirm or deny if it was Williams who queried the dispensation.
“Let’s put it this way, I haven’t spoken to Kimi since Abu Dhabi last year,” Vowles said. “Hopefully that puts it in context.
“I know nothing about what’s going on in the Mercedes tests right now.
“We are looking, as everyone else is, for where we want to be on driver line-up for next year. And we have our own young driver programme.
“In the case of Kimi, I can’t really adjudicate the level he’s at.
“In case of him coming into the car this year, I’ve always said from the beginning, it’s a meritocracy.
“Logan has to earn his seat and at the moment he has some tough targets where he has to get much closer to Alex [Albon], but there is nothing on the radar at the moment for replacing him.”