Andrea Kimi Antꦐonelli, the teenage starlet within Mercedes ranks, has been men🦂tioned as a future F1 driver.

His chance could come much earlie𓆉r than expected if he’s picked to 🤪replace Lewis Hamilton, who is going to Ferrari next year.

Toto Wolff has hinted at a “bold” choice to put alongside George Russell in 2025 -🍷 but Antonelli might be a step too far.

“Kimi has been with༺ Mercedes since he was 11,” Wolff said.

“He's been in the junior programme and his career was very successful. I think most imp🐟ortant at that stage is he focuses on F2.

“If we start to spin his mind or unleash rumours that’🎶s not going to help his F2 campaign.

“He’s just stepped out of karts a few years ago. He’s not even ൩18.

“I wou🎉ld rather not start any spe🔯culation about Kimi going into F1 at this stage.”

Antonelli is still just 17 years old but is tipped for a bright futur𓄧e.

He will skip Formula 3 and move straight into racing fu𓆉ll-time in Formula 2 this seaso𒅌n.

Recently, every F2 driver was testing F3 cars in 𝓀wet conditions and Antonelli blitz🤪ed his rivals by being faster by whole seconds,  report.

Wolff has previously said about him: “We got Kimi under thᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚe wings in 2012 and he was a great kid already then. You could see the character [and] he was strong. We had him in the garage and there was a lot of confidence🦂.

“In go-karting his track record was immens💃e and then you put him in the junior formulas and he wins every single season in his rookie year.

“ But we’ve got to be careful because there’s a lot of hy𒆙pe around him.

“Putting him into F2 is a big st🍬ep because those cars are heavier and much more powerful.

“If we give him his time, and don’t expect him to be killing it in his first season, I think he can be a really great on🎐e in this sport. He’s 1🐷7 – this is so young.”

If Antonelli can live up to the potential, then Mercedes might have 💫their very own Max Vers🥀tappen-esque wonderkid.

Can they resist putting hiꦕm in their car to replace Hamilton eventually?