Toto Wolff still regrets not signing Max Verstappen back in his junior formula days in 2014. The Mercedes CEO may have underestimated the Dutchman’s talent at the time, but also did not have an F1 race seat to offer him. Meanwhile, Red Bull swooped in to sign Verstappen and directly promoted him from F3 to F1. The gamble for the Dutchman has more than paid off. Now, the man who recognized Verstappen’s talent is happy Mercedes is following the blueprint.
For months, Italian prodigy Kimi Antonelli has been touted for a promotion to F1 as a Mercedes driver for 2025. The youngster skipped F3 — similar to how Verstappen skipped F2 — after his immense success at F4 level. Antonelli has won two races in F2 already in 2024. As per the latest reports, it seems that Wolff is ready to put his faith in the Italian and give him the F1 step-up.
When asked how one vets a young driver, Helmut Marko said it’s about recognizing the talent and gauging the maturity while overlooking the age. On the Inside Line F1 podcast, he said,
“If someone has a talent and the team is brave enough to do it, I mean, we showed it with Max and then it’s working. If someone is coming up, doesn’t matter how old he is, when he has a talent, then let’s get him in the car.”
When the host asked if Mercedes is learning from Red Bull, Marko added, “For sure, it helps them to make their decision.”
Verstappen‘s promotion to Toro Rosso in 2015 also made a lot of waves in the F1 paddock. The then 17-year-old was soon promoted again to Red Bull in 2016, after his promising performance in a low-midfield team like Toro Rosso.
That is why, Wolff is not making the same mistake he made years ago. He’s putting faith in Antonelli now instead of trying to poach him three championship wins later. Perhaps, he saw something like Marko did back when Verstappen was in F3.
Marko reveals the instance which convinced him Verstappen is ready for F1
Marko took a brave call to trust a 17-year-old Verstappen and promote him to the pinnacle of motorsport. He had to convince everyone back at the Milton Keynes outfit as well. This is exactly why the host asked the Red Bull advisor what convinced him of the Dutchman’s abilities back then. He revealed it was a rain-soaked race that Verstappen drove in F3.
He revealed, “The main reason why we decided to put him in a Formula 1 car was a race at Norisring, Germany, F3 race. It was wet and he was in a class of his own. He was a second or two seconds faster than anybody on the field.
“There was also (Esteban) Ocon and some other competitive drivers. The way he controlled the car under very difficult conditions that made me change…”, Marko added.
Marko further revealed how Red Bull was planning to support him in F2. However, this fateful race changed the trajectory of his career and the rest is history.
