Andrea Kimi Antonel🃏li, the teenage starlet within Mercedes ranks, has been mentioned as a future F1 driver.

His chance could come much earlier than expected iᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚf he’s picked to replace Lewis Hamilton, who is going to Ferrari next y🐽ear.

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

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

“He's been in the junior programme and his career was very🍎 successful. I think most important at that stage is he focuses on F🏅2.

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

“He’s j🥀ust ♓stepped out of karts a few years ago. He’s not even 18.

“I would rather not start any🍌ღ speculation about Kimi going into F1 at this stage.”

Antonelli is still j꧒ust 17 years old but is tipped for a bright future.

He will skip Formula 3 and move straight 👍into racing full-time in Formula 2 th🌞is season.

Recently, every F2 driver was testing F3 cars in wet conditions♕ and Antonelli blitzed his rivals by being faster by w🔯hole seconds,  report.

Wolff has previously said about him: “We got Kimi under the 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 confiden♈ce.

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

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

“Putting him into F2 is a big step because those cars are h🎀eavier 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 17 – this is so young.”

If Antonelli can live up to the poten✅tial, then Mercedes might have their very own Max Verstappen-esque wonderkid.

Can they resist putting him in their car to replaceඣ Hamilton eventually?