Toto Wolff appears to have dismissed the idea of bringing 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli on board to fill the shoes of Sir Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Hamilton’s imminent move to Ferrari in 2025 marks the end of his remarkable 11-year stint with the Silver Arrows.
With Hamilton’s departure looming, speculation naturally arises regarding his successor at one of the premier Formula 1 teams. Numerous drivers have thrown their hats into the ring, eager to join the ranks of the fastest teams on the circuit.
One such contender is Kimi Antonelli, a promising talent in the Mercedes junior program. Antonelli’s rapid ascent through the ranks of motorsport at such a young age has drawn comparisons to the likes of Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Despite the buzz surrounding Antonelli, Wolff is adamant about not making hasty decisions. While he hasn’t completely ruled out Antonelli as Hamilton’s replacement, his remarks suggest a cautious approach to the young Italian’s development.
The Mercedes team principal remarked prior to the inaugural race of the season in Bahrain this weekend. He stated; “We got that curveball thrown at us with Lewis in the beginning of February. I want to do the opposite when choosing the driver for next year.
“It’s clear Kimi has been in our junior category since he was 11 and we have had great pleasure in watching him grow as a young man and growing through the ranks.
“But I also want to take a little bit of pressure off him. He’s 17. He’s won everything he needed to win in his rookie season, but I think he is going to be a Formula 1 driver. He’s going to be a very, very successful driver in Formula 1.
“But he hasn’t started his Formula 2 campaign yet. They had a difficult test in the first days in Bahrain and we shall see how this develops. I want to wait out the first F2 races.
“There are many very good pilots in Formula 1 available for next year or so and this is all going to come into the equation when deciding on the driver line-up for next year, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
There have been speculations regarding Antonelli potentially joining Williams instead. Williams enjoys a strong partnership with Mercedes and has a history of nurturing drivers who later transition to the Silver Arrows, including Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, and George Russell.
James Vowles said; “From my perspective, I have no doubt that Kimi will be in F1. He’s done incredibly well in his junior series.”
“But that doesn’t mean he’ll be in Williams, necessarily. I believe in investing in youth. But I’ll take people on merit into the organisation.
“In the case of Toto, he’s one of, if not the best, team on the grid, with a range of options available to him. So from my perspective, it’s more about looking what happens going forward.
“I have Alex [Albon] here next year under contract and I have Logan [Sargeant] obviously under contract as well, along with juniors, so it’s just a question of seeing how everything plays out across the next six months.”
