Antonelli, a rising star in the Mercedes F2 program, has earned the nickname “the next Verstappen” and Wolff seems to prefer promoting the talented Italian driver.
Toto Wolff suggested the possibility of Andrea Kimi Antonelli being promoted to Formula 1 as Lewis Hamilton’s successor at Mercedes.
With Hamilton likely joining Ferrari, Wolff has been searching for a suitable replacement, initially considering Max Verstappen from Red Bull.
However, it seems Verstappen is about to stay at Red Bull, and Carlos Sainz, who is expected to replace Hamilton at Ferrari, has also been considered.
Antonelli, a protege of the Mercedes F2 program, has been called “the new Verstappen” and Wolff seems inclined to promote the Italian driver.
Although Mercedes has not made an official announcement, Wolff gave a significant hint about a possible partnership between Antonelli and George Russell in 2025. “Our focus is on Kimi, he is our future, our young drivers,” Wolff told Sky Germany. “We want to commit to that, to the young drivers, and that’s what we communicated to Carlos.”
Recently, both Antonelli and Mick Schumacher, Mercedes and Alpine reserve driver, participated in testing sessions for the team. Contrary to speculation, it was not a direct competition for a seat. Wolff clarified the situation and dismissed rumors that Antonelli outperformed Schumacher and even Russell.
“Both completed the program we assigned to them, and their performance was exactly as expected,” Wolff said about Antonelli and Schumacher. “Some conversations suggesting that Kimi was faster than George and much faster than Mick are absolutely nonsensical. They had different programs to run.”
Wolff emphasized that the tests were not about setting fast lap times, but rather about executing specific programs.
“The three drivers were equally fast, with George being the fastest by a significant margin, as it should be. But we were focused on our programs, not on setting fast lap times.”
This suggests that Mercedes’ future plans may involve encouraging young talents like Antonelli, reflecting their commitment to investing in emerging drivers.
