Toto Wolff has not yet made a final decision on Lewis Hamilton’s replacement for 2025. However, the Austrian has recently emphasized that Hamilton’s departure is an opportunity for Mercedes to embrace change, which he believes to be a good thing overall.
“I’ve always seen a driver’s departure as a new opportunity for the team. Change is good and you have to embrace it,” Wolff told Autosport Wereld. Now, the Mercedes boss has no shortage of drivers to choose from. However, he has shown a preference for two drivers more than any others — Mercedes prodigy, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen.
Despite being in his first Formula 2 campaign, Antonelli (17) has impressed Wolff with his talent from a very young age. “The criteria for our next driver is simple: we want the best driver available and, at the moment, my first option is Kimi Antonelli,” Wolff stated.
Formula 1 News: Wolff hints Antonelli ‘arriving’ in F1 in 2025 (Update) https://t.co/2odyHVfrOv Toto Wolff is now freely admitting that Kimi Antonelli is his “first option” to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton from 2025. pic.twitter.com/F5p8SLFqAo
— AutoRacing1.com (@AutoRacing1) July 29, 2024
Despite his immense potential, Wolff is aware of the challenges that come with promoting a young driver like Antonelli. Not only will the Italian have to go up against George Russell, who is flourishing well at Mercedes, but Wolff also thinks that the added exposure to media and scrutiny can expose his inexperience.
That is why, Verstappen is also one of the drivers the Mercedes boss wants to poach from Red Bull. However, knowing that the three-time champion has a long-term deal with Red Bull, his move to Mercedes is a long shot.
Wolff is not confident about hiring Verstappen in the near future
Despite his interest in the reigning world champion, Wolff remains realistic about the chances of Verstappen leaving Red Bull to join the Brackley outfit. He believes that Red Bull still has the overall fastest car on the grid. Regardless, the 52-year-old admitted that he will monitor Verstappen’s situation at the Austrian team.
Toto Wolff talking about the 2nd Merc seat:
️ “At the moment, my first option is Kimi”
“An alternative scenario is ofcourse Verstappen, but atm that doesn’t seem realistic”
“I will continue to observe the market. I am not sure how things will evolve further at Red Bull” pic.twitter.com/eFjyCfCMGG
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) July 27, 2024
Speaking of Red Bull’s situation, Verstappen has recently been overly frustrated with his team as heard via his radio conversations with his engineer Gianpiero Lamiase during the Hungarian Grand Prix. And there is a good reason for that too. In the nine races after the Chinese GP, Verstappen has won only three.
Not only has McLaren drastically caught up to Red Bull, but the Milton Keynes squad has also been making some mistakes with their strategy calls with Verstappen, which annoys him even more. It’ll be interesting to see if this frustration leads to him making the jump over to Mercedes in the next two seasons.
