Beauty sleep lately slept Mercedes F1 team junior program announced Thursday two new contracts.Toto Wolff led the Mercedes team scored a game-movement of the young drivers market. AOP

the Mercedes F1 team reported on Thursday made an agreement with two young and promising go-kart driver. Italian Andrea Kim Antonelli , 12, and jamaican Alex Powell , 11, will now officially Mercedes ‘ junior program.

in bologna in the year 2006 was born the Antonelli name to inject in Finland, naturally the eye, and its background in order to understand the need to make a very long reflections. The name is, of course, from a Kim Räikköseen .

In the sense of the boy’s name choice is interesting, however, that when he was born, 25. August 2006, Raikkonen was still in a Mclaren F1 driver. The contract Ferrari with a was of course, done behind the scenes already in the past, but it was announced only 10. September driven in the Italian GP after Michael Schumacher was first announced the end of his career.

Mercedes support Antonelliana already last season. The boy does not belong to the official Mercedes junior drivers, although a long line of F1-graph Mark Sutton so wrote instagram in the published image. Grid Kid’s role in the Italian GP attended Antonelli to say hi in the photo of the Mercedes-star Lewis Hamilton .

team manager Toto Wolffilla , however, was in a hurry, as Antonelli drove through the 2017 Italian Roberto Robazzin leading to a Tony Kart in the garage, by the car of the side decoration of the Ferrari driver academy. Austria wanted to strike before Maranello.

Last season, Antonelli belongs to Rosberg racing for the function under, the Mercedes-world champion Nico Rosberg based on the Rosberg Young Drivers Academy.

Two disappointment

the Mercedes junior programme has been sleeping recently sleeping beauty sleep. Late last year team manager Toto Wolff to consider even the size of the program stopping after the garage was lost Pascal Wehrlein Formula E series, the Mahindra Racing garage, and Esteban Truiolo found a racing driver a place in any F1 team.

Truiolo lost his place in the Racing Point in the changed Force India garage, while Lawrence Stroll to get the team’s ownership and this Lance -son moved to the Sergio Pérez teammate of Williams. Truiolo end Mercedes third driver.

Two of disappointment to counteract Wolff managed to at least get to have last season’s F2 champion George Russell place in the team Williams.

Some think the Mercedes to stop the junior program in full, but Thursday’s news show the opposite. Program priorities have clearly changed. Mercedes main goal is to find truiolo for a place in the team next season and keep Russell the F1 series as long as possible. New promises will not search very actively.

One exception was the Mick Schumacher , who joined in winter, the Ferrari driver academy. Schumacher is told, however, refused Mercedes ‘ offer. He won last season in the F3 euro series championship the Italian Prema-in the garage, which is quite close to both the Mercedes that Ferrari. This season Schumacher will compete in the same garage, the car, the F2-series.