We think about after Hamilton
The passage of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025 it is obviously the most debated topic at the beginning of February 2024, even if in Brackley this officiality does not represent the only thought. The departure of the seven-time world champion will obviously generate a void inside the garage, with the team being forced to focus on a replacement for the coming year.
First of all Russell
As it stands, however, the Anglo-German company will face the upcoming world championship once again with Hamilton as his compatriot's teammate George Russell. The Team Principal wanted to express his opinion precisely on the latter Toto Wolffespecially for the role of the Briton in 2025: “We have two excellent drivers – he declared to the media – Lewis, in his last year at Mercedes, and George, eager to get back in the car and do well. We need to put a car on the track that has more pace than last year, and we know how difficult it will be to compete not only with Red Bull, but also with the others. Also, of course, in all the discussions about Lewis, little has been said about Russell. George has the potential to be the team's next top driver. He is from the generation of Norris, Leclerc and others, and not I might want a new team leader when Lewis leaves. There is no doubt. We have such a solid foundation, with a very fast, talented and intelligent guy in the car. We just have to make the right choice for the second driverand not I want to be hasty in this”.
A déjà-vu with Rosberg
A situation that Wolff compared to that of the end 2016when Nico Rosberg he won the world title with Mercedes at the last race only to then make the drastic and unexpected decision to retire from F1: “I think they were a few weeks ago signed some contracts that we could have evaluated and which could have been interesting, but the timing penalized us a bit – he added, referring precisely to Norris and Leclerc – but in a way I always like changes, because they give you opportunities in the same way we welcomed Nico's situation, which from one moment to the next was equally unexpected. I look forward to making the right decisions for the team together with my colleagues about who will sit behind the wheel next year. And maybe it's an opportunity to do something brave“.
A driver from F2?
Analyzing the possible bold choices, Wolff was asked how serious it is possible to take into consideration the hypothesis of promoting a driver to the team who, to date, is not even present in F1. This is Bolognese Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 17-year-old champion of the European Formula Regional and directly promoted to F2 this year in the Prema team. A name that the Austrian manager does not want to take into consideration for now: “Kimi has been with Mercedes since he was 11 years old – has explained – he participated in the junior program and his junior career was very successful. I think the most important thing at this stage is that focus on F2. I think if we start turning his head or starting rumors in the media, it won't help his F2 campaign. He abandoned karting a few years ago and is not even 18 years old. So I would prefer not to start speculation about Kimi's move to Formula 1 at this stage“.
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