The FIA has been asked to allow Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli to make his Formula 1 debut before he turns 18.
The Formula 2 driver has been tipped for a seat at Mercedes next year when the team needs to replace Lewis Hamilton.Antonelli’s four wins in different championships over the last two years mean he has already more than fulfilled the requirement to score at least 40 FIA superlicence points to qualify to race in F1.
However the FIA International Sporting Code states a driver “must be at least 18 years old at the start of the event of his first F1 competition.” Antonelli will not turn 18 until August 25th, the day of the Dutch Grand Prix, and therefore could not enter a competition until the following round at Monza in Italy.
A potential destination for Antonelli is Mercedes’ customer team Williams. Its team principal James Vowles joined the team last year from Mercedes, where he was involved in their young driver programme and worked with Antonelli.
If Antonelli was to arrive at Williams this year, he would most likely take the place of Logan Sargeant, as Alexander Albon’s contract already extends into next year. Rumours about Sargeant’s future have already begun to circulate in Miami, scene of his home grand prix this weekend.
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Sargeant has failed to impress since joining Williams last year. He has not out-qualified Albon once in 27 grands prix and had a series of crashes. He was benched by the team during the Australian Grand Prix weekend after Albon crashed in practice, leaving them with a single chassis, as Vowles felt his team mate offered their best chance of scoring points in the race.
Williams have not responded to a request for comment. Any change to Antonelli’s racing plans would require the agreement of his management team, including Mercedes.
The FIA is considering the request but any change is unlikely to happen quickly as it would require the approval of various people and commissions.
The governing body has previously stuck firm to its superlicence restrictions. In 2022 it turned down a request from Red Bull to allow IndyCar driver Colton Herta to make his Formula 1 debut with their junior team. Although Herta was old enough he did not have the necessary 40 points on his superlicence.
The FIA introduced the 18-year age limit in 2016, in reaction to Red Bull giving Max Verstappen his F1 debut at the age of 17.
Antonelli lies ninth in the Formula 2 standings after making his debut in the series this year. He won the Formula Regional European and Middle East championships last season.
He has tested two Mercedes Formula 1 cars since the last F2 round in Australia in March. He drove the team’s 2021-specification W12 at the Red Bull Ring and sampled a 2022-specification W13 at Imola.
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Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
3rd May 2024, 20:19
Bye bye Logan … let a genuine driver get some practice in before next season in the Newey/Merc?
I’m expecting Newey to go to Ferrari, but these days, who knows?
SteveP
3rd May 2024, 20:41
Yep, it does look like Logan’s seat is being fitted with an ejector mechanism, doesn’t it.
Nick T.
3rd May 2024, 20:51
He’s been lucky to keep his seat this long.
The age rule is ridiculous, but Mercedes claiming they’re not asking for a dispensation is the most pointless Ron-speak legalize I’ve ever heard. I guess you can slightly justify it by saying they’re trying to spare Logan embarrassment during his home race.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 21:15
Nick T. Ridiculous how? The points system should go, but minimum age requirement is definitely justified.
Riccard
4th May 2024, 8:28
“Definitely” justified?
I don’t think there should be a mid-season exemption for one driver, but in general, if someone is good enough (and has proved it through the ranks of competition like Antonelli), teams should be allowed to drive them.
MichaelN
3rd May 2024, 20:39
He’ll be 18 in August. This seems a bit pointless, what’s the rush?
Nick T.
3rd May 2024, 20:41
To replace Logan as soon as possible, none of us wants us to see another three+ months of Logan. I’ve got nothing against him personally and he seems nice enough, but he’s hopeless as a driver.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 20:59
Nick T. Except this excessive rush has only cons, given he’s far from mentally wholly ready to even compete in F1 yet.
@streydt Definitely. Knowing FIA, people shouldn’t expect them to bend super license rules, especially when no criteria for dispensation even exists in the first place.
They’d only put themselves into a difficult position if they made an exemption based on unjustifiable grounds.
Nick T.
3rd May 2024, 21:14
Max was 17 and had less prep. The new super license rule is based on nothing. So, an exception means nothing.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 21:16
Nick T. You do realize no age limit existed (yet) when he entered F1, so racing before turning 18 was perfectly okay & thus apples to oranges comparison.
S
4th May 2024, 3:03
And was very far from ready for F1 when he entered.
Have we already forgotten how many other drivers labelled him dangerous? The FIA even had to make new rules….
He needed at least a couple more years learning real-world racecraft before he was ‘ready’ for F1.
SteveP
4th May 2024, 8:48
Max also spent a good portion of four seasons testing the crash resistance of other cars and the crash barriers.
Then again, the likes of Maldonado were older and did similar.
Like Jere, I don’t understand the apparent rush.
ludewig
4th May 2024, 11:46
@SteveP
You are stating falsehoods there.
SteveP
4th May 2024, 15:53
So, he didn’t rear-end his then teammate Riccardo in his 4th season and cause Horner to comment that he needed to learn not to crash into people, particularly his teammate?
He didn’t tag other drivers and the barriers often enough to acquire the nickname of “crashstappen”?
and this next quote isn’t true either?
Just check the history books, recent years don’t feature as many shunts, but he is on a career 29 to date.
Nick T.
3rd May 2024, 21:18
ps – maybe it’d be better for Kimi to wait, but in terms of my entertainment an early debut is preferable.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
4th May 2024, 6:09
People wonder why Newey is retiring,
all you have to do is look at how Logan was used to generate a cheap thrill for Las Vegas or how someone who hasn’t performed in F2 is being prepped for F1. F1 is a boring circus, not even during 2008 and 2009 when MotoGP had bridge stone control the tires to keep Rossi in front, was it even as bad as it is now in F1.
PacificPR (@streydt)
3rd May 2024, 20:52
I seriously doubt they will make an exception. Logan will be in the car till Zandvoort.
Mog
3rd May 2024, 20:53
Williams will make antonelli look rubbish, then the hype will disappear and be replaced with concern about promoting him too early. They should just put him straight in the Merc next year, or earlier if Lewis continues to be demoralised.
On the other hand, if it IS Williams they are thinking of for Antonelli, that likely means there is a short contract going for Lewis’ seat. Say until 2026 or so. That does make the driver market slightly more interesting.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 21:04
The hype definitely would disappear quickly if he debuted during this season & thus the same people who complain about Sargeant would start complaining about him constantly failing to progress from Q1 & languishing in low positions, etc.
If Williams truly wanted to replace Sargeant, they should only do that with a driver who would definitely be an improvement from him & perform consistently alongside Albon, which is far from a given with Antonelli, given his limited single-seater experience.
F1, as the highest level, ultimately is a series where drivers should only ever go when wholly ready & not to ‘learn’ anymore.
hoshino (@hoshino)
4th May 2024, 4:25
I bet, if you ask Max, Lewis or Nando if they’re still learning something with every race, they will reply “yes”. This is what makes a person become professional in any field.
People, who think they’re reached their best and do not have to learn anything anymore usually end up like Stroll or Sargeant.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th May 2024, 7:06
@hoshino I didn’t mean learn in that way.
Nick T.
4th May 2024, 9:16
If he’s beating Albon, the hype will not fade.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 20:56
Totally pointless to even ask for something FIA most certainly won’t grant in any case, given how particularly strict they’re about the super license rules.
People should know better than to expect certain things from them, especially after the rejection in Herta’s case since no force majeure situation had affected his points-gaining ability, & no provision criteria (or previous precedent, for that matter) even exist for the minimum age requirement under which a dispensation could be handed in the first place, so a waste of time to even bother.
The age limit came in for a reason, & as no justifiable reason exists for an exemption with this particular requirement, if it didn’t matter anymore, it should get dropped altogether or dispensations be granted to everyone who reaches the minimum points amount before turning 18, which other drivers in a similar situation would most certainly also start to ask for, to avoid double-standard treatment.
Ultimately, totally pointless to ask or even think about this matter & a valid driver’s license is another requirement for a super license since 2016, meaning it would also get ignored as 18 is the minimum in most countries, including Italy.
This whole matter shouldn’t even have come up in the first place, & as his readiness to compete in F1 from next year is already questionable, he most certainly wouldn’t be mentally ready to compete in F1 during this season & thus only cause inconvenience for any team by holding them back excessively, probably even more than Latifi in 2022, so this whole rush with him is totally pointless in the first place, as he has plenty of time to compete in F1 from 2026 onwards, so continuing in F2 until next year’s end should be the only intention in any case.
Simon
3rd May 2024, 21:11
More word soup from occy…
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 21:17
Wholly justified rant because Mercedes people seem to think he’s worthy of a special treatment, even though no one is.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
5th May 2024, 2:16
A lengthy comment, yes Simon, but not all of us are twitter era one liner consumers. And in any case…
‘Word Soup’ is usually about lack of formatting, capitalization, punctuation, etc. that is detrimental to a piece of text, which – aside from paragraph demarcation – doesn’t really apply here, and
Even with what one would assume your definition to be, how you cannot see a point being made is rather beyond me.
In actual fact, as I posted below before reading existing comments, I feel my view (albeit briefer) is quite aligned with Jere’s here.
Dex
3rd May 2024, 21:48
It’s a stupid rule (meant to prevent anyone to become a Verstappen, and why… that nobody knows). That being said, rules are rules. I don’t understand the idea of asking FIA not to apply a rule. Does it mean that rules stand, except if you’ve asked nicely?
If they allow Antonelli to race before he turns 18, they should simply bin that rule, or at least redefine it (i.e. you have to be 18+, or 16+ if you have won bla, bla, and your safety record is bla, bla, something, something).
After all, we have Sargeant and Stroll in F1, and they are as accident prone as a 12 year old talent would’ve been. We also have a Viking with semi-serious homicidal tendencies. So what’s the point of ageism?
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 22:21
Minimum age limit is far from a stupid rule.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
3rd May 2024, 23:43
Yes, in the legal system. Or in politics. But not in sports. We have minor athletes in all sports who compete on a professional level. It shouldn’t matter if they are young or old it should only matter if they are good enough. It’s a completely unnecessary and stupid rule implemented like so many other for the sake of… what? Just implementing something.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th May 2024, 7:08
@roadrunner – I disagree. Without any minimum age limit, certain teams would try & get drivers in as early as possible, making the whole situation difficult, so introducing the age limit back in 2016 was the right move.
@esploratore1 – A dispensation even on that ground would be justified only if all drivers would get treated equally.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
4th May 2024, 6:17
As I understand we’re however talking about a driver who has 17 years and 3\4 on the way to 18, so an exception would only give a 1,5% “discount” on age required, that’s fine by me, I would grant a dispensation in this case.
Having said that, for all I saw there’s no need to rush antonelli, I’m talking performance wise.
Lewisham Milton
3rd May 2024, 22:10
Let him in, on the grounds that nobody mentions his middle name ever again.
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd May 2024, 22:21
Good one
Angell run
4th May 2024, 2:24
It seems unfounded to limit the age. Did the FIA explain why it was detrimental to Max for starting at 17? Enough to change the rules? Without that, it is unfair to hold Antonelli back while Max has continued to do well.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
4th May 2024, 6:57
Williams has two of its own junior drivers in F2. What an insult to them it would be if they were to fast-track another F1 team’s junior driver into Sargeant’s seat.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
5th May 2024, 1:54
People may or may not agree with the ‘age’ rule, but it’s pretty black and white.
Honestly I am not fussed either way: follow the rule, or change the rule. But please please don’t make exceptions.