ANTONELLI V SCHUMACHER? SILVERSTONE ‘SHOWDOWN’ BOOKED IN FASCINATING MERCEDES TEST – REPORT

According to German media, Mick Schumacher will be a known benchmark for a test involving Kimi Antonelli at Silverstone.

The rumours regarding Kimi Antonelli’s future refuse to die down, with the Italian driver now reportedly set for a test session at Silverstone that will see him compared against 2020 Formula 2 Champion Mick Schumacher.

Kimi Antonelli headed for Silverstone Mercedes test

Antonelli, who debuted in Formula 2 this year after winning multiple Formula 4 and Formula Regional championships over the last two seasons, is a potential name for the vacant Mercedes seat following the departure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari.

But, while Antonelli’s record in the junior categories, so far, is astonishing, there’s no doubt that the 17-year-old Italian driver represents a huge risk to be fast-tracked into F1 if he’s not ready – and there’s only been a small handful of races in F2 to call upon for data.

But the chances of unearthing another Max Verstappen, who was fast-tracked by Red Bull from F3 straight into Formula 1 a decade ago, means Antonelli is still a potential for the F1 2025 grid and he’s been carrying out extensive tests with Mercedes using older machinery.

Test driving a 2021 Mercedes at the Red Bull Ring last month, Antonelli also took the wheel of a ground-effect car relevant to the current regulations when he tested a Mercedes W13 at Imola.

According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Antonelli will now take part in a test at Silverstone, again driving the 2022 W13 to further acclimatise to the ground-effect regulations. Intriguingly, the German publication report that he will share the car with Mercedes’ reserve and test driver Mick Schumacher.

Schumacher was signed by Mercedes after the German driver finished a two-year stint with Haas after 2022, with the American squad opting not to renew his contract despite signs the 2020 Formula 2 Champion has started to get to grips with Formula 1.

With no doubts over Schumacher’s speed, Michael Schumacher’s son will provide a telling benchmark against which Antonelli can be judged as speculation about the status of his super licence increased over the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

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Unnamed F1 team seeks super licence dispensation for Kimi Antonelli

While the Italian has accumulated enough points due to his multiple championship victories, to be granted an FIA super licence his age counts against him. As Antonelli is under 18 years old, he is not yet eligible to be granted a super licence by the FIA as required in order to race in F1. These rules were introduced as a result of Verstappen’s skipping of a few rungs in order to reach F1.

But, over the Miami Grand Prix weekend, the FIA confirmed it has received a request for a dispensation to be granted to Antonelli to allow him to be granted a full super licence which would allow him to go racing.

The FIA is looking into the possibility, which will require a few stages of approval through its own super licencing authority, the F1 Safety Commission, and the World Motor Sport Council.

As the dispensation is only needed until August, when Antonelli turns 18, the most obvious possible reason for this request is that a team is seeking to get him onto the grid quickly. With the request not coming from Mercedes, the obvious candidate is Williams as Logan Sargeant continues to fight for his future in F1.

However, it’s not just Antonelli who could benefit from the test – a strong showing from Schumacher, who is also a factory Alpine racer in the World Endurance Championship, could launch him into contention for a seat at Alpine’s F1 team, Williams, or even for the vacant cockpit at Mercedes.

With Wolff confirming Mercedes had nothing to do with the dispensation request, the Austrian said he is against pushing the Italian too quickly into an F1 cockpit as he explained to Autosport.

“Just 15 months ago, he was in an F4 car,” Wolff continued. “We have great belief in Kimi, his abilities, and also his future.

“But there is a trajectory which we need to follow with diligence, rather than trying to dream about jumping from series to series in a way that is certainly not beneficial for him.

“I think a champion is not going to be distracted by any of this. But certainly, at least it distracts me because everybody’s asking me: ‘What about Kimi and driving in Imola?

“This is not going to happen. This is not something that Mercedes wants. These rumours have gotten their own spin. Let’s do Formula 2. We as a team have lots of other issues to resolve.”

Speaking after the Miami Grand Prix, Wolff re-iterated this stance by saying: “There are so many stories, it doesn’t do him any favours because he needs to concentrate on this F2 campaign, he’s doing lots of testing for us in order to bring him up to speed and I think this decision of the second driver is weeks, if not months, away.”

As for Williams, team boss James Vowles avoided answering the direct question of whether having Antonelli in the car this year is a possibility for the Grove-based team.

“I haven’t spoken to Kimi since Abu Dhabi last year. Hopefully that puts it in context,” he said on Thursday.

“I know nothing about what’s going on at Mercedes’ tests right now. We are looking, as everyone else is, for where we want to be on driver line-up for next year and we have our own young driver programme.

“In the case of Kimi, I can’t really adjudicate on the level he’s at. In case of him coming into the car this year, I’ve always said from the beginning, it’s a meritocracy.

“Logan has to earn his seat. And at the moment, he has some tough targets where he has to get much closer to Alex. But there is nothing on the radar at the moment for replacing him.”

According to Formula 1’s paddock journalist Lawrence Barretto, Vowles also said that the team is in discussion with as many as five drivers about a race seat and that any deal would be with an eye towards a two year deal to reach the end of 2026.

2024-05-06T12:39:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd