Who in Mercedes in 2025?
When Lewis Hamilton has made his move to Ferrari for the next two years, last January 1st, Mercedes had explained that they were in no hurry to choose the driver who would partner George Russell. In recent weeks, Toto Wolff’s plan has seemed to be clear: that is promote Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the 17-year-old F2 driver from the Mercedes academy, barring sensational surprises.
Sensational surprises that have a name and surname: Max Verstappen. The Dutchman, who still has a contract with Red Bull valid until the end of 2028, also has a termination clause linked to Helmut Marko’s stay in the team, which he can activate a year after his mentor’s farewell. As the weeks went by, however, Mercedes’ sights on Verstappen seemed to be set for 2026, but the recent performances of the Silver Arrows could turn the tables on them.
Wolff’s words
Interviewed by Caranddriver on the weekend in Barcelona, Toto Wolff he made no secret of his plan: “We had talks with Carlos Sainz, going so far as to talk about the conditions of a possible agreement. But we came to the decision that we would not confirm our choice until the autumn. We wanted to leave the question open, both to see what happened with Max, but also to observe how Andrea Kimi Antonelli evolved. And that meant a possible wait until September, October or even November. So with Sainz we decided that it was better for them to act differently.”
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