At this year's Italian Grand Prix in Monza, rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli made his Formula 1 debut for Mercedes in the first free practice session. During the event, the team also confirmed that the 18-year-old will complete their lineup for the 2025 season.

Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, previously revealed that he was eager to sign Antonelli right after Lewis Hamilton announced his unexpected switch to Ferrari before the season got a chance to start.

Despite his clear talent, young Antonelli had some areas to work on, especially when it came to staying consistent during longer races.

While his raw speed and ability to achieve fast single laps were never in doubt, this inconsistency made Mercedes uncertain about his readiness for Formula 1.

However, Antonelli pointed out that he made significant progress before the summer break, which was enough for the team to confidently commit to him for next year.

"I feel ready for F1,” he stated at Il Festival dello Sport organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“In terms of speed, I think it won't be a problem.

“The only thing where there will be a lot of work to do is about how to manage the weekend in the best possible way and also to learn all the procedures. So, there will be a lot of things to learn.”

He sets his goals pretty high for 2025, aiming to fight for the top spots in his rookie season.

“Definitely winning some races would be a dream,” Antonelli said.

“It won't be easy, because all the teams will have a competitive car, so it will be very difficult, but this is the target.

“Some podiums would also be good, but the main goal is to bring home some wins.”

Antonelli shared that it was a crucial test at Spa-Francorchamps, which helped to show Mercedes he had overcome a major weakness, proving he was ready for an F1 seat.

"During the TPC [testing of previous cars] tests, one thing that impressed them was how quickly I got to the limit and how quickly I got to the target lap times that Mercedes wanted,” he explained.

“But I have to say that the factor on which I struggled the most during testing was the race pace.

“However, in the last two days of testing at Spa, I improved the race pace considerably, and that pushed Mercedes to sign me.”

When Antonelli takes on his full-time F1 seat in 2025, he will become the first Italian to race in the series since Antonio Giovinazzi in 2021.