At the beginning of the season, many options were being linked to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. But, as the months have progressed, 17-year-old Italian F2 prodigy, Kimi Antonelli has been singled out as the most favored candidate for that second Mercedes seat. According to 1997 world champion, Jacques Villeneuve, it’s more about Toto Wolff’s ego than Antonelli’s merit.
At one point of time, Max Verstappen was being heavily linked with a move to the Silver Arrows. Those prospects have since died as Verstappen has seemingly called a truce with Christian Horner. That left Carlos Sainz as one of the most likely candidates to replace the seven-time world champion.
First @F1 test for Kimi Antonelli ✅ pic.twitter.com/n5vjx5QIBJ
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 17, 2024
However, with rumors that Sainz and Mercedes had reached a contractual deadlock, the name of Mercedes junior driver, Antonelli was thrown into the conversation. Recent reports suggest that the Brackley team have dropped the idea of signing the #55 driver and are ready to promote Antonelli to the big leagues instead.
Villeneuve, however, feels this decision has more to do with the Silver Arrows’ boss’ ego. Formula Passion quoted the Canadian as saying, “Toto Wolff’s ego also played an important role in this decision: he wants to prove to the world that he was right to have chosen him [Antonelli] when he was only 12 years old. He wants to show that even then he saw a future world champion in him.”
Antonelli, who turns 18 this August, has been putting in some laps in older-spec Mercedes F1 machinery. He already has tests at the Red Bull ring and Imola under his belt. If the Italian performs well in his F2 campaign too, the German outfit will promote him to F1 next year.
Has Toto Wolff dropped the Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes announcement?
The paddock is still rife with chatter as the grid for the 2025 season is yet to be decided. One major piece of this puzzle is the second seat at Mercedes. On paper, two candidates are vying for that place – Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli.
However, Wolff‘s comments at the 2024 Canadian GP weekend have all but confirmed the driver who will be driving for the eight-time champions next year. When asked about the prospect of signing Sainz, Wolff shut that door by revealing that they have already turned the Spaniard down in favor of the Italian.
: Carlos Sainz won’t rush F1 future despite Williams’ public interest, says he’s focused on current races. Williams’ James Vowles praises Sainz but acknowledges decision timing uncertain. Sainz yet to decide on 2025 plans. #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/1k37V2HyMp
— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) June 11, 2024
The Austrian was quoted as saying, “We just want to concentrate on Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He is our future. We want to work for the young drivers. We also said that to Carlos,” as reported by PlanetF1.com.
Mercedes has really picked up the pace this season from the Monaco GP onwards. Could Kimi Antonelli become Mercedes’ youngest-ever Grand Prix winner and world champion in the future?
