The FIA has relaxed its regulations for him. Last June, Article 13.1.32 of Appendix L of the International Sporting Code, dealing with the conditions of access to the Super Licence, was amended. Since then, it states that "the driver must be at least 18 years old at the start of the event of his first competition F1. In the sole judgment of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated exceptional ability and maturity in Formula One car competitions car can be granted a Super License at the age of 17. »
The legal age limit for driving in F1 was introduced in 2015 following the arrival of a UFO named Max Verstappen a few months earlier, at just 17 years old. The Dutchman pushed the FIA to tighten its rules, before they were reissued last June, nine years later. This change came at just the right time, just as rumours were flourishing of Andrea Kimi Antonelli's arrival at Williams instead of Logan sargeant. Then aged 17 and enlisted in Formula 2 For only a few months now, the academy's protégé Mercedes could have, thanks to this regulatory change, anticipated his debut in the premier category.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli replaces Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. @DPPI
Mercedes has finally decided to let him mature in F2 until the end of the season, before offering him his chance at the start of the 2025 season. The former Prema driver will be one of five rookies on the starting grid for the first Grand Prix in Australia and will be by far the youngest of the new promotion. Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be 18 years, 6 months and 22 days old when the red lights go out above Melbourne's Albert Park for his first start.
He will then become the third youngest driver in the history of the category after Max Verstappen (17 years, 5 months and 15 days) and Lance stroll (18 years, 4 months and 26 days). Unlike the other two, Andrea Kimi Antonelli has the chance to make his debut in a leading team. To find a trace of a rookie joining a team that finished in the top 4 the previous year, we have to go back to 2007 when a certain Lewis Hamilton made his debut at McLaren. As a symbol, Andrea Kimi Antonelli replaces the seven-time world champion at Mercedes.
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Antonelli has five years to become the youngest world champion in history
The Italian will have the chance – if the car allows him – to become the youngest driver to get on a podium in F1, or even win a race. Both statistics belong to Max Verstappen, whose first podium was a victory in Barcelona in 2016. To beat the four-time world champion, “AKA” will absolutely have to win one of the first three rounds of the season. If he manages to do so in Japan, the third round of the year, he will have managed to win a race being only three days younger than Max Verstappen in 2016.
Despite his young age, Andrea Kimi Antonelli can also hope to adapt quickly to his car to extract the quintessence from it from the first weekends. By climbing onto the podium from his debut in F1, the young man would imitate Lewis Hamilton, Jacques Villeneuve or Kevin Magnussen. If we allow ourselves to extrapolate a little further, we can imagine that Mercedes quickly regains its former splendor and is able to fight for the title from the arrival of the new regulations of 2026, where the new engine of the firm with the star is announced to be formidable. By winning the world crown before 2029 – that is, five chances to achieve it – the native of Bologna would become the youngest world champion in history.
All this is obviously just pure hypothesis, but it reflects quite well the precocity of a phenomenon who has won everything up to F2, where his only season ended with a 6th place finish. I learned a lot as a driver and I also learned how to work best with the team, especially in difficult moments. » Mercedes' protégé recently explained. “I also took part in my first Free Practice 1 sessions and completed the F1 post-season test, which was useful to better understand the car and the tyres. All great learnings for next year.” It is now up to him to conquer F1 with the same appetite with which he devoured the promotional formulas.
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donkey d
24/01/2025 at 06:03 a.m.
I hope that Mercedes and all the others who have signed young drivers have doubled their capacity for carbon because it risks flying quite a bit, we're going to have a good laugh again
Lucas Paul
24/01/2025 at 04:49 a.m.
I like him, ah youth, so for him and Bearman I hope they will have good results, but the fight will be tough with the "old ones" :)
Yves-Henri RANDIER
24/01/2025 at 04:17 a.m.
AKA may have the opportunity to become the youngest driver to stand on a podium in F1, or even win a race and dethrone Max Verstappen, but the 2025 Mercedes must be very good as soon as it is put on the track and Mercedes must immediately understand how it works. This seems quite unlikely given the last few seasons. As for becoming the youngest world champion in history (records are made to be broken) by winning the title by 2029, anything is possible, especially with the new 2026 regulations which will completely reshuffle the cards. Hope springs eternal!