The first part of the championship ended with the bitterness of George Russell's disqualification, but with the forfeit victory obtained by his teammate Lewis Hamilton, at Mercedes it is time to look more carefully at the future. With Hamilton's departure scheduled for 2025, destined to end his career with Ferrari, team principal Toto Wolff is focusing on finding the ideal driver to partner Russell. In this context, Wolff recently declared that young Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the favorite to inherit Hamilton's seat, despite speculation about a possible arrival of Max Verstappen.
Pools Wolff: “Antonelli could follow the same path as Piastri"
Toto Wolff clearly expressed his intentions in an interview with Autosport Wereld, underlining his confidence in the emerging talent of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. “The criteria for our next driver is simple: we want the best available,” Wolff said.
“At the moment, my first option is Kimi Antonelli. Of course there are risks. It's not so much about his talent as a driver, but Antonelli would be exposed to the media and the skill of George Russell, who is one of the best drivers on the grid, but Kimi has enormous potential. His speed and talent are already at a certain level, he just lacks experience. An alternative scenario is of course Verstappen, but at the moment it doesn't seem realistic to me. Other drivers would sign a one or two year contract, which is not enough for us. So I'm happy to take a risk with Antonelli, because it's a calculated risk.”
“If you look at Piastri's progress - goes on - it took him a year and a half to compete for victories at the level of teammate Lando Norris. We want to try to do the same with Kimi. In 2025, with the changes of 2026, we will still be in transition, so it is a good season to build him into our team." Antonelli's performances in Formula 2 and the positive tests at Spa-Francorchamps have further strengthened Wolff's trust in the young Bolognese.
The Verstappen dream steps aside
Despite Antonelli's strong candidacy, Wolff does not completely rule out other options, including that of Max Verstappen. However, the world champion's arrival at Mercedes appears unlikely due to the contract that binds him to Red Bull until 2028.
“I will continue to observe the market. I'm not sure how the situation at Red Bull will evolve,” Wolff said, keeping the door open to the possibility, albeit remote, of signing Verstappen. The recent internal problems within the Red Bull team and the strained relationship between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner add a further layer of complexity to this hypothesis. However, Wolff remains realistic: “Kimi is fast and talented, he just lacks experience. He is the favourite, but I continue to monitor the market.". With the official announcement that he could arrive as early as the Monza weekend, Antonelli seems destined to become the new face of Mercedes, projecting the team towards a future of great challenges and opportunities.
