Toto Wolff has confirmed that Mercedes protégé Andrea Kimi Antonelli will take part in his first official F1 practice session at Monza next weekend, but the teenage charger will not be replacing a struggling Logan Sargeant at Williams for the remaining races of 2024.
In addition to his campaign with Prema in this year’s FIA Formula 2 Championship, Antonelli has been busy preparing for his likely promotion to Formula 1 with Mercedes in 2025 by undergoing an extensive test programme with the Brackley squad.
The talented 18-year-old driver already put significant F1 mileage under his belt at various venues at the wheel of Mercedes’ 2022-spec ground-effect car.
Next Friday’s FP1 outing with the team assuredly represents Antonelli’s next significant step towards a race seat in F1.
"We're going to do FP1 with Kimi in Monza, which is going to be a really emotional moment," Wolff said at Zandvoort on Sunday.
"Because we followed him since he was 11 and a baby, go-kart driver, and a Mercedes kid proud to be in the garage.
"To see him drive out on Friday in FP1 in Monza, in front of the tifosi, having an Italian kid in a competitive car, I think that will be something that everybody in Italy can be very proud of. And then we take it from there."
On Sunday, rumors emerged that Williams was considering replacing its beleaguered driver Logan Sargeant after the American’s costly crash in Saturday’s FP3 session, an event many see as the final straw in Sargeant’s F1 career.
However, Wolff has made clear that Antonelli is not a candidate for an interim stint with Williams.
"Between James Vowles and myself, we have super transparent discussions and relationship, and James was part of developing Kimi and finding Kimi," commented the Austrian.
"So, I think what's best for him is to continue the programme as we have designed it, with the testing [of previous cars] and Formula 2, and see how that goes, rather than disrupting our plan and giving him the opportunity in a Williams – and that's the decision that we have taken."
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