Rumors about Andrea Kimi Antonelli potentially replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes have been going on since the start of this season. Even Toto Wolff has spoken a lot about wanting to sign Antonelli. However, the Mercedes boss may have mistakenly confirmed the Italian prodigy’s seat in a media interaction at the Dutch GP.
Dutch journalist Erik van Haren has claimed in his report for De Telegraaf that Wolff had a “slip of the tongue” moment, wherein he referred to Antonelli as George Russell’s teammate for next season. Van Haren quoted Wolff’s comments,
“The two drivers in our car next year have our full support. I want to make it work with George [Russell] and Kimi [Antonelli].”
Voorlopig dus niet, maar Mercedes-teambaas Toto Wolff heeft naar eigen zeggen ‘het gevoel’ dat wegen van hem en Max Verstappen ooit zullen kruisen.
Wolff ‘versprak’ zich net en bevestigde dat Kimi Antonelli nieuwe teamgenoot George Russell wordt.⬇️https://t.co/kprIKRJYtB
— Erik van Haren (@ErikvHaren) August 23, 2024
There have been several reports of Mercedes looking to announce Antonelli as their driver for the 2025 season at the Italian GP weekend. Moreover, the soon-to-be 18-year-old will also be reportedly driving Hamilton’s car in the FP1 session at Monza.
So, it could be a perfect occasion for the Silver Arrows to confirm Antonelli‘s signing at his home venue, after having deliberated and waited long enough for other options like Max Verstappen.
Wolff still keeps the door open for Verstappen for 2026 or beyond
Signing Antonelli doesn’t mean Wolff is giving up on signing Verstappen if the reigning champion makes himself available in the forthcoming future. Wolff believes their paths could cross in the future amid the internal instability at Red Bull.
He said, “I can’t say that the door is closed for Max for 2026 or beyond. We want to keep all options open and that will also apply to him, his father Jos, and his manager Raymond Vermeulen.”
However, the Austrian is not sure about Verstappen coming to Mercedes in 2026 or after the end of his Red Bull contract in 2028. For now, it seems increasingly likely that Wolff has decided to give Antonelli his big break for 2025, with only the official announcement and relevant details yet to come out.
