1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill believes Andrea Kimi Antonelli is now showing “the signs of brilliaꦗnce” Mercedes keep “talking about” after a tricky start to life in F2.

Antonelli is the Mercedes wonderkid looking to replace 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton alongside 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell for the 2025 F1 season.

The 17-year-old is the heavy fav🧜ourite to take the seat with reports in the Italian press suggesting an announcement could be made at Monza next month.

Antonelli is only seventh in the F2 standin💦gs, 78 points off Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar.

But despite F2 being a spec series - w꧅here all the cars🥀 are meant to be identical - some teams have been struggling more than others.

Antonelli sits comfortably ahead of Prema teammate Oliver Bearman, who will race for Haas in F1 nex🐟t year.

Spe🌸aking on the latest episode of the , Hill commented on Antonelli’s progress in F2.

“I t🐼hiꦿnk he’s showing signs of the brilliance they keep talking about,” Hill said.

“They’ve obviously 𝄹upped the🤡 rhetoric on Antonelli. We were struggling to see what they were talking about, I have to say early on.

“The team he’s with, Prema, haven’t got their car sorted so he’s been finding it difficult, as has Ollie B👍earman, to compete in F2 but he’s put in a few good performances recently.”

In the most recent F2 round at Spa, Antonelli pulled off a stunning ꦺmove in the wet into Eau Rouge on Franco Colapinto.

Hill thinks Antonelli 🃏will only continue to impress in the second half of the year.

“I didn’t see🧸 it but I think in the sprint race which they ran for only seven laps at Spa, I think he pulled off a bit of a move which everyone was talking about,” he added.

“When you get those frissons of pun♍dits saying ‘did you see that? that was pretty impressive’. Then you know t📖hat he’s starting to mature and show this form, this talent that we’ve heard so much about.

“Definitely think, gi💟ve him another half a season or something…”