Mercedes adds two new members to its young driver program
Mercedes announced today that two new drivers have joined its junior driver program, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Alex Powell.
Alex Powell, a 11-year-old Jamaican, becomes the youngest driver in the Mercedes young drivers program. He has notably won several karting races and has established himself as a true reference in the discipline. The other driver in the Star brand’s selection is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has often been regarded as one of the most promising talents of his generation. The 12-year-old Italian currently races in karting for the team of the 2016 Formula 1 world champion, Nico Rosberg. Just a coincidence? He is the 2018 WSK Cup champion in the junior category.
With this new lineup of young drivers, Mercedes is changing its recruitment policy. Indeed, the five-time world champion team used to focus on drivers who had already proven themselves in single-seater competitions such as Formula 3. The first protégé of the German team, Pascal Wehrlein, was spotted in 2014 in DTM, Esteban Ocon began his association with Mercedes in 2015 during his F3 season, and it was a similar story with George Russell.
Mercedes would then be getting closer to Red Bull’s methods, aiming to continually feed the driver elevator. Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t seem to be beneficial for the Stuttgart-based team, knowing that two of its three protégés haven’t had the opportunity to remain in Formula 1.
Introducing the two youngest members of the Mercedes junior programme…
👉 Andrea Kimi Antonelli – 12 years old, Italy
👉 Alex Powell – 11 years old, JamaicaThe boys are both racing in karting this year and we can’t wait to follow their progress! pic.twitter.com/QyXFV3TKpv
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) April 4, 2019
