In Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, Mercedes have two of the biggest talents on the F1 grid, although the former is entering the twilight years of a glittering career. However, there is little reason to worry about replacing the seven-time world champion in the long term as Toto Wolff has plenty of young stars progressing through the feeder series ranks.
Three former members of the Mercedes Junior Team have graduated into F1 with the most notable and most recent being their current driver, Russell. However, the Silver Arrows also provided the launchpad for Esteban Ocon and Pascal Wehrlein to make the leap onto the grid.
Their current junior roster consists of six drivers, one of whom was competing for the Formula 2 title this season. Frederik Vesti ultimately finished second in the standings behind Theo Pourchaire but remains part of Mercedes’ plans after completing FP1 sessions in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
The Danish driver was even linked with a seat on the grid for as early as next season with an F1-Insider report surfacing ahead of the weekend in Abu Dhabi stating that James Vowles was assessing Vesti as a potential alternative to Logan Sargeant.
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However, the most highly-rated prospect in their ranks is Kimi Antonelli. The Italian teenager has been tipped as the ‘next Max Verstappen’ for many years now thanks to his sensational karting record and already has a wealth of junior series titles to his name.
Discussing the 17-year-old – who will make the leap from Formula Regional to F2 next season – Wolff stated: “We’ve got to be careful because there’s a lot of hype around Kimi.
“Putting him into F2 is a big step because those cars are heavier and much more powerful. But if we give him time – and don’t expect him to be killing it in his first season – I think he can be a really great one in this sport.”
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Alongside Antonelli and Vesti, Mercedes have two drivers competing in Formula 4 championships alongside their karting duties. Alex Powell and Tuanpu Cui have been members of the junior team since 2019 and 2021 respectively.
The Silver Arrows’ two latest recruits are both still progressing through the karting ranks with Spanish prospect Luna Fluxa and British driver Kenzo Craigie both attached to the Mercedes programme.
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