Antonelli can do 'great things' as Hamilton's replacement

Kimi Antonelli joined Mercedes' youth programme at the age of 11

Toto Wolff says Mercedes expect “great things” of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has been named as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement next year.

The 18-year-old will partner George Russell to give Mercedes what team principal Wolff describes as “two drivers who are very extraordinary”.

Antonelli, who crashed heavily on his F1 race weekend debut in practice at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday, has been a Mercedes protege since he was 11.

Wolff decided to promote the Italian after what will be just one season in Formula 2, because he believes he can become a leading driver and that keeping him out of F1 would be wrong.

"Kimi has been with us since the age of 11," Wolff told BBC Sport in an exclusive interview.

"We have seen that, back in the day, his karting has been exceptional, maybe the only one who came close to this was Max Verstappen's karting trajectory.

"And then he went through the formula series, winning in the rookie years and that is very special.

"Kimi has all he needs, the ability and the speed, and he has been part of the team a long time, he has tested a lot.

"We expect great things, but not from the beginning. It is clear we need to give him time and see how he develops."

Antonelli said his promotion was "an amazing feeling" and the fulfilment of “a dream I have had since I was a very small boy".

The Italian has been prepared for F1 this year by Mercedes with an extensive testing programme in former cars, which will continue for the rest of the year.

Wolff said he expected Antonelli to make plenty of mistakes as he learns the ropes in F1 next season.

"Probably we will see some very good races and highlights in the first season," he added. "But on the other side we will also see some front wings that will be missing after Turn One and maybe one or the other things in the race that don't run so well.

"F1 is a complicated car, lots of switches, and that's something you need to adapt to."

And Wolff said that it would be a tough ask for Antonelli to be expected to be able to arrive at the same performance level in his first season as Russell, who he described as "one of the very best drivers in the world".

"Measuring himself against George we don't believe it is possible to be anywhere near that level," added Wolff.

"And on the other side, we acknowledge, and also George does, that there is a young driver with a lot of ability and that is our hope to have two drivers who are really strong."

Hamilton has long backed Antonelli as the driver Mercedes should choose to replace him following his decision to move to Ferrari next season.

The seven-time champion said at the Italian Grand Prix on Thursday that the Bologna-born teenager was "one of those super-talent kids that come through", adding he had "a bright future ahead of him".