by VALERIO BARRETTA
“I told Carlos Sainz that we will focus on young people“. With these words the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff seems to have definitively closed the doors of his team to the Spaniard, who was hoping for a call from Brackley to form a partnership with George Russell in the medium-long term.
Sainz will most likely, at least for 2025, have to settle for an uncompetitive seat and hope for the 2026 wildcard, when the new regulations come into force.
Also in 2026, according to Mercedes’ plans, Andrea Kimi Antonelli could make his debut in the team, who in 2025 would be “parked” elsewhere to accumulate experience. If this scenario is confirmed, in Brackley they would need a “stopgap” for 2025, which Sainz obviously refuses to do, being at the peak of his career. He could instead accept Valtteri Bottaswhich Sauber/Audi does not seem willing to confirm.
Villeneuve’s words
The possible return of the Finn, almost never convincing in these two and a half years in Hinwil, is the scenario that Jacques Villeneuve believes in for the future of the Brackley team: “I think Bottas will go to Mercedes. They want a pilot for a year. Then they have to get a driver who accepts an annual contract, who knows the team, has experience and who prepares the seat for Antonelli“, this is his comment to Sky Sports UK. “And then Toto will have to pay a team to put Antonelli somewhere for a year. I have no information whatsoever, it’s just my feeling”.
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