Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be eligible to make his Formula 1 debut before turning 18 as the FIA has relaxed the regulation on the minimum age limit.
Antonelli, who is competing in his maiden season in Formula 2, is considered the leading name to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season.
But it emerged last month that a dispensation request, thought to be from Williams, had been made with the FIA to provide Antonelli, 17, an exemption from the rules.
Antonelli’s success in the lower formulas meant he had the requisite 40 points to attain an FIA Super License, but his current age was preventing an immediate debut.
However, the International Sporting Code has since undergone a modification that would allow Antonelli to conduct his F1 bow before his 18th birthday on 25 August.
“The driver must be at least 18 years old at the start of the event of his first F1 competition,” the rule under Appendix L now reads. “At the sole discretion of the FIA, a driver judged to have recently and consistently demonstrated outstanding ability and maturity in single-seater formula car competition may be granted a super licence at the age of 17 years old.”
The FIA has also eradicated a rule that required Super License holders to “be the holder of a valid driving licence when he applies for a super licence for the first time.”
Antonelli has been dovetailing his F2 campaign with an extensive F1 testing programme with Mercedes in older-spec cars at the Red Bull Ring, Imola and Silverstone.
The Italian could be in line to get an earlier graduation to the top flight should Williams’ successful request lead to an interest in fielding him for the remaining rounds.
Alex Albon has renewed with Williams on a long-term basis, but Logan Sargeant has endured a challenging sophomore campaign and is poised to vacate his position.
The FIA’s previous minimum age limit ruling was brought in as a response to Max Verstappen being ushered through into F1 at 17 with Red Bull’s sister squad in 2015.
Speaking last month, Verstappen advised Antonelli to ignore the outside noise and be prepared to make mistakes in the sport should he replicate the Dutchman’s path.
“Well, hopefully nothing too intimidating, but, you know, you’re such a rookie, you know, that there’s so many things that you still have to learn,” Verstappen said.
“I mean, for me personally, the biggest one was actually doing a full race distance, you know. Like, in F3 at the time, you know, you did 35-minute races.
“So, you know, there’s a lot more involved. Looking after your tyres is a big part of it. You know, these tyres are so particular and sensitive compared to some other categories.
“Of course, in F2, F3, you’re running on Pirellis already. But for me at the time, that wasn’t the case.
“But yeah, just, you know, going through the good moments, the bad moments, how you come out of these things, difficult weekends, where it’s just not working for you or whatever.
“Like, there’s so much to learn. But on the other hand, also, don’t try to think about it too much. Just let it go.
“When you’re talented – and you can see that with Kimi, he’s very talented – I don’t think you should be too worried, you know, just… make mistakes.
“I mean you have to make mistakes. Ideally, of course, you like to make those mistakes when you’re not fighting for championships or whatever, so I also got lucky with that, you know, starting at Toro Rosso at the time, not many people are looking at you all the time, so you can make some silly mistakes here and there.
“But it’s important to make them because even though you tell yourself all the time I cannot do this or I cannot do that, you will only adapt really if you make them and then move forward.”
