Kimi Antonelli’s name has been the most discussed as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton for 2025. However, ever since Mercedes have improved its performance since the Canadian GP, the chatter around the Italian prodigy has settled down. The Race’s Edd Straw believes that the Brackley outfit may be losing interest in Antonelli if they can build a championship-winning car for 2025.
Mercedes have secured two consecutive race wins in Austria and Britain after taking pole in Montreal. In fact, their victory at the British GP came on “pure pace” as per Hamilton, who broke his hiatus of wins since 2021.
Thus, the Silver Arrows would hope that they can build on this performance to get back in the championship fight next season. As a result, they would be wary of putting an inexperienced Antonelli in place of Hamilton for next season.
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“Their [Mercedes’] recent progress suggests that they really could be [in a title battle in 2025]. And so there is a bit of a difference between throwing an 18-year-old into the team that trying to battle its way back to the front and one that could be in a real-life championship battle. So that’s maybe skewed the equation”, explained Straw.
Straw also explained how Antonelli’s readiness to take a step up to a big F1 team like Mercedes may also influence the decision. While there have been rumors about the 17-year-old getting a drive at Williams first, Toto Wolff has been adamant about getting Antonelli straight into a Mercedes.
However, if the Brackley outfit feels that they need more of an experienced driver in a race-winning or championship-winning car in 2025, that opens up the door for Carlos Sainz once again.
How Mercedes’ skepticism could benefit Sainz?
Sainz is one of the few available drivers and one of the most sought-after ones for the 2025 season. With race-winning experience at Ferrari in the past three years, there is no doubt about the Spaniard’s caliber and ability to deliver results for a top team.
Previously, Sainz has been in contention for Hamilton’s seat at Mercedes. Some rumors also suggested that Silver Arrows offered him a 1+1 year deal. However, as Sainz clearly wants a long-term contract, these negotiations may have broken down. Naturally, Mercedes have been keen on signing Antonelli as their academy graduate.
However, the team having a much more competitive car could turn the odds in Sainz’s favor, given the Italian will have a lot to learn if he gets the Mercedes seat. Even Wolff had not ruled out signing the #55 driver completely as he has not seen Antonelli light up the F2 championship so far this year.
