F1 has seen many great drivers in the past 20 years, with the likes of Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso all winning multiple championships. However none have been quite successful as Lewis Hamilton. With 7 world championships, 103 race wins and 197 podiums, Hamilton is the most successful driver in F1’s 74 year history.

Since joining F1 in 2007 Hamilton has taken at least one race win every year up until 2022. Since then, there has been lots of talk of him retiring from F1. Hamilton recently extended his contract with Mercedes until 2025 and given that he will be 41 by the time the contract expires, some have speculated that it could be his final deal as an F1 driver.

If that is the case, then Mercedes will need to find someone special to fill the shoes of the 7 time world champion. Fortunately for them they have one of the most promising young drivers under their belt with Kimi Antonelli.

More commonly known by his middle name, Kimi, he was born in Bologna, Italy, in 2006 and joined the Mercedes Junior program in April 2019, off the back of various titles and wins in the junior karting categories. In 2020 he would continue to win karting titles such as the FIA Karting European Championship and WSK Euro Series which has been won by drivers in the past such as Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen on their way to F1.

In 2021, Kimi would once again win the FIA European karting Championship, before moving up to single-seater racing at the end of the Italian Formula 4 season for the final three rounds with Prema, showing impressive pace and scoring podium finishes.

But it wasn’t until 2022 when he started to make a name for himself, competing full time in Italian F4. He didn’t just win the Italian F4, he dominated it, winning 13 out of 22 races which included 7 straight wins in a row, with a gap of 102 points to 2nd place in the standings.

But he didn’t stop there as he also dominated German F4, winning 9 out of 18 races which is even more impressive when you consider that he missed 3 of them. His worst finish that year was P6, showing his consistency in a similar manner to how Max Verstappen dominated his first year of car racing.

In 2023 Kimi won the Formula region middle eastern championship by 40 points. He would then compete in the Formula regional European championship which is usually the final stepping stone before F3. Once again Kimi would win the title in his first attempt with a 39 point gap to second place.

Winning multiple single seater titles back to back pretty much guaranteed Kimi a F3 seat, however it was announced that in 2024 he will be racing in F2 with Prema, similar to Max Verstappen who skipped F2 and went straight from F3 into F1 . Skipping a series like F3 is pretty much unheard of and shows the level of confidence that Mercedes have in him.

Formula 2 will be using brand new cars next season meaning that last years drivers will have to get to grips with the new car. This levels the playing field as all 22 drivers will be new to the car. This could be just what Kimi needs and there’s every chance that he could win this championship in his first season as he has done in Formula 4 and Formula Regional.

If he does, there will be plenty of empty seats in F1 for 2024, with more than a dozen contracts ending. This could provide Kimi with a seat at midfield team like Williams for 2025 before replacing Hamilton at Mercedes the next year.

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