Andrea Kimi Antonelli is without doubt one of, if not the most exciting young talents coming through the world of motorsport.
The Italian, who only turned 18 last month, has had a meteoric rise through the ranks after winning the FRECA and the Formula Regional Middle East Championship last year.
Antonelli made the jump to Formula 2 for the 2024 season with PREMA, where he has displayed just how much talent he has. After 11 rounds of the championship, the Italian is sat sixth in the standings with two wins at Silverstone and Budapest.
For the 2025 season, Antonelli will make yet another huge step in his career, as he will join Mercedes in Formula 1 in place of the outgoing Lewis Hamilton, who is set for Ferrari.
With the 18-year-old’s F1 dream accomplished, many are wondering who will be the next talent to rise up, and speaking on The Race F1 Podcast, Mark Hughes identified one driver that could be the next big thing.
Malthe Jakobsen could be ‘the next Kimi Antonelli’
The driver in question is Danish driver Malthe Jakobsen, who is currently a reserve driver for the Peugeot Hypercar in the World Endurance Championship.
After winning Dansh F4 in 2019, Jakobsen has enjoyed great success on the Endurance scene, winning the European Le Mans Series in the LMP3 class in 2022.
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The next year, the 20-year-old moved to the LMP2 class, finishing second in both the Asian and European Le Mans Series, before winning the former in the 2023/24 campaign.
Jakobsen is currently competing in the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series, where he is sat fifth in the standings after winning the Four Hours of Barcelona. Hughes believes the young Dane is an ‘exceptional talent’.
When asked if he has noticed anyone special coming through the junior ranks after the success of Antonelli, Hughes said: “Who’s coming through? I don’t see in F3 and F2 at the moment, the next Antonelli as it were, not yet. But undoubtedly [they’ll] be someone coming through karting in Formula 4 or whatever.
“One guy that I think that’s very interesting but he’s not on the single-seater ladder, he’s a Peugeot Endurance driver is the Danish young driver Malthe Jakobsen. I think he definitely looks like someone who’d definitely be worth, putting him in a simulation, put him in a F3 car, F2 car, just to see where he is because he looks like he might be an exceptional talent.
“He’s a little bit off the radar, but the next one will become obvious when he arrives.”
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Peugeot have struggled in the WEC Hypercar class in 2024
Peugeot have endured a difficult season in the WEC this year, as they currently sit seventh in the manufacturer’s championship after six rounds.
The No. 93 car, driven by Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller and Jean-Eric Vergne, have scored all the team’s points in the drivers’ standings, registering a best finish of eighth at Sao Paulo.
The last round at the Circuit of the Americas was a torrid time for the French outfit, as the No. 93 could only manage 12th while the No. 94 failed to finish the race.
The 2024 WEC season next heads to the Six Hours of Fuji before the season finale at the Eight Hours of Bahrain.