Toto Wolff seems to have dismissed the thought of bringing 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli on board to fill the sneakers of Sir Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Hamilton’s imminent transfer to Ferrari in 2025 marks the tip of his outstanding 11-year stint with the Silver Arrows.
With Hamilton’s departure looming, hypothesis naturally arises concerning his successor at one of many premier System 1 groups. Quite a few drivers have thrown their hats into the ring, keen to hitch the ranks of the quickest groups on the circuit.
One such contender is Kimi Antonelli, a promising expertise within the Mercedes junior program. Antonelli’s speedy ascent by means of the ranks of motorsport at such a younger age has drawn comparisons to the likes of Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Regardless of the thrill surrounding Antonelli, Wolff is adamant about not making hasty choices. Whereas he hasn’t fully dominated out Antonelli as Hamilton’s alternative, his remarks recommend a cautious method to the younger Italian’s improvement.
The Mercedes staff principal remarked previous to the inaugural race of the season in Bahrain this weekend. He acknowledged; “We acquired that curveball thrown at us with Lewis at first of February. I need to do the alternative when selecting the motive force for subsequent 12 months.
“It’s clear Kimi has been in our junior class since he was 11 and we have now had nice pleasure in watching him develop as a younger man and rising by means of the ranks.
“However I additionally need to take slightly little bit of stress off him. He’s 17. He’s received all the pieces he wanted to win in his rookie season, however I believe he’s going to be a System 1 driver. He’s going to be a really, very profitable driver in System 1.
“However he hasn’t began his System 2 marketing campaign but. That they had a tough check within the first days in Bahrain and we will see how this develops. I need to wait out the primary F2 races.
“There are various excellent pilots in System 1 accessible for subsequent 12 months or so and that is all going to return into the equation when deciding on the motive force line-up for subsequent 12 months, however that’s not going to occur anytime quickly.”
There have been speculations concerning Antonelli probably becoming a member of Williams as an alternative. Williams enjoys a powerful partnership with Mercedes and has a historical past of nurturing drivers who later transition to the Silver Arrows, together with Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, and George Russell.
James Vowles mentioned; “From my perspective, I’ve little question that Kimi shall be in F1. He’s accomplished extremely properly in his junior collection.”
“However that doesn’t imply he’ll be in Williams, essentially. I consider in investing in youth. However I’ll take individuals on advantage into the organisation.
“Within the case of Toto, he’s considered one of, if not the perfect, staff on the grid, with a variety of choices accessible to him. So from my perspective, it’s extra about trying what occurs going ahead.
“I’ve Alex [Albon] right here subsequent 12 months beneath contract and I’ve Logan [Sargeant] clearly beneath contract as properly, together with juniors, so it’s only a query of seeing how all the pieces performs out throughout the following six months.”
