Toto Wolff put on alert and warned Lewis Hamilton replacement could leave chief red-faced
Toto Wolff is still unsure of his driver pairing for 2025 with compelling options still on the table.
Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 F1 world champion, has suggested that Kimi Antonelli is not ready to make the step up to partner George Russell at Mercedes next season and that if he was as fast as Toto Wolff insists he is, then the team principal would have already confirmed him for 2025.
Antonelli was promoted from FRECA to Formula Two over the winter, skipping out Formula Three entirely, and after a difficult start to his rookie campaign, the Italian teenager has found his footing.
He heads into the final five rounds of the calendar with two wins in as many weekends, following up a sprint victory in wet conditions at Silverstone with an impressive feature race triumph at the Hungaroring on Sunday.
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Despite this recent success, however, Villeneuve does not believe that the 17-year-old is the right man to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season. "We haven't seen enough results from Kimi Antonelli in F2 to make any sort of prediction of how he will fare in F1,” he told Instant Casino.
“Mercedes have been talking him up like crazy, saying he was quicker in testing than George Russell. If that's the case, why haven't they already signed him up?
“The people who know his best level are Mercedes, and they're trying to promote him, but no other team are going out of their way to sign him. That seems weird to me. Antonelli might have the potential to be a great F1 driver, but he's likely not ready."
Antonelli hinted at this being the case himself after securing his second win of the season in Hungary. "I don't know if I will be ready, to be honest,” he confessed. “I'm still learning a lot in F2. I definitely still make a lot of mistakes and the details that really matter, I'm still not doing everything right. I just want to be honest.”
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If Wolff decides that 2025 isn’t the right year to promote the crown jewel of his driver academy, then Mercedes’ options will be relatively limited. For months, the only other target on his radar has been reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who is unlikely to depart Red Bull as long as they keep fighting for wins.
The only real alternative to Antonelli is Carlos Sainz, who is still holding out on making his decision with Alpine, Sauber and Williams all keen to bring the Spaniard on board. He would jump at the chance to join Mercedes, and if the stars align in terms of timing then Wolff could have his man for 2025.
