The 18-year-old Italian is literally that – Mercedes chose Antonelli to make his debut this season after the seven-time champion informed them of his desire to move to Ferrari for 2025 before last season had even started.
But Antonelli’s point is that he wants to make his own mark in F1.
“I don’t feel like his replacement,” Antonelli told BBC Sport. “I just feel like a Mercedes F1 driver.
“But it’s such a great opportunity. I am really grateful for the trust and opportunity Mercedes gave me. But at the same time, it is a big responsibility as well, because I am racing for Mercedes, top team, and so they’ve got some expectations as well, of course. I am just going to try to make the best out of this.”
Stepping into the car vacated by the most successful F1 driver of all time, for a record-breaking team, appears daunting on paper. No pressure, as they might say.
But so far Antonelli seems to be taking it in his stride. He is, as his team-mate George Russell says, remarkably mature for an 18-year-old.
“I really want to start with a nice rhythm and build from there and be consistent,” he says. “And what I don’t want to do is, like, big mistake. Because when you do a big mistake, you do a few steps back and then to recover it takes a little time.”
Antonelli is a name that has been doing the rounds in F1 for a while. He has for some time been regarded as one of the most prodigious talents in motorsport.
He joined Mercedes’ youth programme at the age of 11 and was promoted to F1 after just one season in Formula 2.
People who have worked with him have spoken in awed tones about the level of his talent, about how he could be the next big thing.
As such, the expectation was that he would make it to F1 before too long. But even he has been surprised by how quickly he has been parachuted into a top team.
“If you had asked me this four years ago, I would have said, ‘this is crazy, not happening’,” he says. “Maybe a bit later. If you think, not even four years ago, three and a half years ago, I was still in karting. Of course F1 was always my big dream but I wouldn’t have imagined I would get here so quickly but I am super-happy and it is a dream come true.”