Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff will be carefully considering his options right now as he assesses who he wants to partner George Russell with in 2025 and beyond.
Losing Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari was a huge blow although the seven-time world champion won’t be regretting his decision given the struggles the Silver Arrows are enduring right now.
Speaking on the Nailing The Apex Podcast, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has been taking a look at one driver Mercedes are reportedly considering.
One candidate is likely to be Carlos Sainz as he searches for a new seat having lost his drive at Ferrari because of Lewis Hamilton’s imminent arrival.
Toto Wolff would love Max Verstappen to join Mercedes and Adrian Newey’s decision to leave Red Bull might have boosted his chances of signing the three-time world champion.
Other drivers further down the grid are potential options such as Valtteri Bottas who may have just lost his seat at Sauber due to the signing of Nico Hulkenberg.
However, ahead of many of those on the list for Mercedes is youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but Guenther Steiner doesn’t think the teenager has had a great start to the season.
The 17-year-old has a huge future ahead of him but has been promoted very quickly through the junior ranks and racing in Formula 1 next year might be a step too far for the Italian.
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Guenther Steiner left unimpressed by Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli this season
Kimi Antonelli has had a whirlwind junior career in racing, winning championships and moving on at a rapid rate.
He won Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 in 2022, before taking the FRECA Championship last year alongside the Formula Regional Middle East Championship.
As a result, Mercedes found Antonelli a seat in Formula 2 – skipping F3 – this year, but Steiner hasn’t been amazed by what he’s seen so far.
The 17-year-old should be cut some slack as he’s up against plenty of drivers entering their second or third season at this level while he’s still getting used to the car.
However, what is in his favour is his battle against teammate Oliver Bearman, who showed in Saudi Arabia that he’s ready for Formula 1.
Even taking the round of the championship in Jeddah out of the equation, Antonelli has still been the stronger PREMA driver this season against the young Brit.
Kimi Antonelli still has something to prove before Formula 1 debut
Asked who should take the second seat at Mercedes, Steiner said: “It’s very difficult to say.
“As I say, Kimi Antonelli in F2 this year up to now it wasn’t fantastic but then it’s always the dream there to do something like Red Bull did with Max [Verstappen] years ago when he was 18.
“Came straight from Formula 3, performed and it was good.
“Can that be replicated? I don’t know. It’s more like, where do they think the car is next year?
“If they think they can get the car sorted, you need the best driver you can get in that car because Mercedes wants to challenge for wins, even the championship.
“They cannot have a year where they say, oh we’ll just put somebody into training for 2026 which would be the case of Kimi Antonelli because even when Max came in, he went first to Toro Rosso, just to learn about it before they put him into the number one team which was Red Bull.
“If I put Kimi Antonelli in, if they have got a good car, I know that we will not get the best out of it for the championship but at least I get the best driver for the future, ready for 2026 when we want to win the championship again.”
Will Kimi Antonelli be in Formula 1 in 2025?
While Steiner doesn’t think Antonelli has been fantastic this season, Mercedes will want him racing in Formula 1 as quickly as possible.
If they can’t sign Verstappen, he appears to be higher up Toto Wolff’s shortlist than Carlos Sainz.
He’s already testing Formula 1 cars and it would be a surprise if he didn’t take part in an FP1 session at some point for Mercedes this year.
If Wolff decides he isn’t ready for Mercedes in 2025, then there might be a spot for him at Williams.
Logan Sargeant hasn’t lived up to expectations and Antonelli could follow in George Russell’s footsteps before joining him at the Silver Arrows.
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