Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari to replace Carlos Sainz next year leaves a seat at Mercedes up for grabs; watch Saudi Arabian GP Practice from Thursday, qualifying on Friday and the Grand Prix itself on Saturday, plus the new F1 Academy season.
“Toto Wolff says Kimi Antonelli will be successful in F1 but will wait to see if he will be Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes in 2025”
Toto Wolff claims Mercedes are in “no hurry” to replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Hamilton will leave Mercedes after 12 seasons at the end of this year for Ferrari, so the seat alongside George Russell is up for grabs.
Wolff has previously stated Mercedes may try something “bold” with many interpreting that to be a hint towards looking at teenager Kimi Antonelli, who is currently driving in Formula 2 and is highly-rated by the paddock.
Antonelli had a tough start to his F2 career after finishing 14th and 10th in the two Bahrain races but beat Prema team-mate Oliver Bearman.
“A championship-winning team 17th and 18th, in F2, that’s not at all where they should be,” said Wolff, referring to Antonelli and Prema’s qualifying positions in Sakhir.
“I think you can look at him against the team-mate, that is one of the comparisons, and I think Oliver Bearman is a top driver. But I think, like I always said, I’m almost guilty of talking too much. We will see how the next few races pan out.
“I’m in no hurry for us to take a decision on drivers. I’ve been rushed in a hurry by Lewis. So, this time around I’m going to take it easy and evaluate the market.”
Is Verstappen to Mercedes a possibility?
The driver any team would want in their car is Max Verstappen but he’s contracted to stay at Red Bull until the end of 2028.
However, Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, says Red Bull are in danger of being “torn apart” if Christian Horner remains at the team, following an investigation which dismissed allegations of inappropriate behaviour against the Red Bull team principal. Horner denied the allegations throughout the process.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has asked Max Verstappen to publicly endorse Horner. It’s understood the FIA will not comment on the matter as it was a private conversation.
Wolff, who was pictured talking to Jos Verstappen after the Bahrain Grand Prix, was asked if there was any chance Max Verstappen could drive for Mercedes next year.
He said: “I think the driver will always choose the quickest car. That is fundamentally what it’s all about. At the moment, the Red Bull is the quickest car so that will always be in my opinion the priority.”
