Toto Wolff has lifted the lid on Mercedes’ search for a successor to Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. Wolff and co. have known since the winter that Hamilton was headed to Maranello for 2025.
There are three world champions on the F1 grid, and Hamilton is the most successful of them all. The Briton has won seven titles in all, claiming a record 103 race victories along the way.
Finding the right replacement is one of the biggest tasks Wolff has faced, and it comes amid added pressure amid Mercedes’ struggles on track. In an interview with Chinese outlet Xinhua, he’s opened up on the driver hunt.
Another of the champions in action currently is Max Verstappen, and he’s been the dream target for Wolff. However, Red Bull are now expecting him to stay put and honour his long-term contract.
As for Fernando Alonso, speculation around his future can now cease after he signed a contract extension at Aston Martin. Previous reports claimed he had his eye on the vacancy with the Silver Arrows.
Toto Wolff names ‘very strong’ candidate for Mercedes drive
Wolff says there’s now a good chance that Mercedes will promote their young driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli straight from F2. He intends to wait and see how he performs this year before making a final call.
The Austrian says ‘many drivers’ have successfully made such a leap. One of them, incidentally, is Hamilton, who came within a point of winning the title in his rookie year with McLaren in 2007.
“He’s definitely a very strong contender,” Wolff said. “I want to see how his F2 season develops, but we will wait and see what happens with some of the other drivers in F1. I don’t doubt his raw speed, talent and ability.
“We wouldn’t have supported him from go-karting until now if we didn’t believe that he has the potential to go into F1 and do so with Mercedes. Many young drivers have shown in the past that you can do that step.”
Who is Andrea Kimi Antonelli?
Antonelli, who was born in Bologna, has an exceptional record in the junior categories. He announced himself in 2022 by winning both the Italian F4 and the ADAC F4 championships, notching 21 poles and 22 victories from 35 races across the two series.
Last year, he raced in the Formula Regional competitions in Europe and the Middle East, and once again he won both. The next step for the youngster, who’s been with Mercedes since 2019, was to jump up to Formula 2.
The Prema racer, who’s up against Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman, has made a quiet but solid start. He sits ninth in the championship after three rounds and bagged a season-best fourth in the feature race in Australia last time out.
Antonelli has drawn comparisons to both Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, which will of course be difficult to justify. But F3 engineers who have watched him trackside said they hadn’t seen anyone as impressive since the Dutchman.
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