Earlier last month, Lewis Hamilton announced that he’ll be moving to Ferrari in 2025. This news shocked the entire F1 world, including Mercedes fans and team boss Toto Wolff. However, now that the news has become known to everyone, there is a lingering question, and that is who is going to fill Hamilton’s shoes? Interestingly, amidst the series of queries, Toto Wolff had earlier stated that he didn’t want to rush into any decision and while talking to GP Blog, he recently added something notable.
He said, ”I’m not in a hurry to decide on the drivers. Lewis made me hurry up. So I’ll sit back, take it easy and evaluate the market.” Indeed, at the time of Hamilton’s announcement of leaving Mercedes, there was panic in the team.
This was because of the announcement’s timing, which, according to Wolff, left no suitable candidates to take Hamilton’s place. For Wolff, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris were his top priorities. However, by the time Hamilton made his move, both of the talented drivers had already signed a deal with their respective teams.
Nevertheless, when discussing the present scenario, it should be noted that Wolff and his team still have options. There are drivers like Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, who still haven’t signed any contract for 2025. Meanwhile, Mercedes has also have their dynamic prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is driving in F2 this year.
Therefore, Wolff’s sole remaining challenge is finding a driver who will lead the team to similar success like Hamilton. For this, the Austrian wants to keep him calm and not rush to make the decision.
What did Toto Wolff say about the youngest candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton?
With the start of the 2024 F1 season, Toto Wolff and his team have several impending tasks to do. The first is to elevate their 2024 challenger to the status of a credible front-runner. Secondly, by the time the season ends, they will need to choose a driver who they think will succeed Hamilton.
With two world champions like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel in the mix, they now have the choice of investing in experience or going with youth with drivers like Carlos Sainz or Kimi Antonelli. While not much has been said about any other driver by Wolff, the 52-year-old certainly has opened up on the youngest option for Silver Arrows, Kimi Antonelli.
The Italian is a Mercedes academy driver and is currently one of the most exciting drivers in the junior category. He has therefore been discussed as a strong contender to replace Hamilton. However, this scenario seems to affect the Italian’s performance during his stint with Prema Racing.
Nevertheless, despite his underwhelming F2 debut, he beat his teammate Oliver Bearman with quite ease. Speaking about this, Wolff said, “It’s not at all where they should be. I think you can look at the battle between teammates. It is one of the comparisons that I think we already have against the best drivers.”
Wolff’s remarks suggest that Antonelli is a serious contender for the Mercedes’ vacant position. However, all won’t become apparent until the F2 driver finishes his season. Fans thus will have to wait till then to find out what Wolff and the squad decide.
