• 2025 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team race driver Kimi Antonelli appears with the upcoming all-electric Mercedes-Benz CLA
• The short film shows the recuperation power of the new car, with a Christmassy feel
• To be released at 6.00 pm on 16 December on the Mercedes-Benz Social Media Channels

In early 2025, two of the most hotly anticipated new arrivals for Mercedes-Benz will appear. On the race tracks, Kimi Antonelli becomes a Formula One® race driver. And on the roads, the all-new CLA will have its world premiere. Before then, the new star and the new car meet in a playful film with the slogan “Charging up for 2025”.

Before he takes to the track in F1® pre-season testing, Kimi starts a journey at the snowy top of a mountain in the European Alps. Driving through freezing weather into the valley in something special. His car, a disguised version of the upcoming CLA in dazzling red illuminated livery, show its impressive energy recuperation performance. 

By the end of the drive, the CLA has easily generated enough electricity to plug in^[1] and power the festive lights of a Christmas tree. Of course, the sequence was filmed on a closed course and under supervision, with a very capable driver at the controls.

The new Mercedes-Benz CLA will set standards in terms of efficiency and sustainability. Almost all brake applications are performed with the aid of recuperation and not mechanically via the wheel brakes, thereby charging the kinetic energy back into the battery. The strong deceleration means more recovered energy and gives drivers a longer range.

Italian Kimi Antonelli will race alongside George Russell in 2025, with both drivers having graduated from the team’s Junior programme.

^[1] The bi-directional charging function (vehicle-to-home) will only be available in the vehicle at a later time.