James Volwes: “Toto is not pushing” to place Antonelli in Formula 1
The British team principal revealed that he had spoken to Toto Wolff during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. The former Mercedes driver was impressed by the Italian's pace, but prefers to leave Logan Sargeant for the rest of the season.
This is a transfer that takes time to materialize. The Mercedes team, which currently has one of the four remaining seats available in Formula 1 for 2025, is considering giving its second seat to the promising young Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, currently competing in Formula 2 with Prema. Despite his youth and lack of experience, his performances do not go unnoticed. He already has two wins this season, including one in the feature race at the Hungaroring circuit.
Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes, recently pointed out: “We have a young driver coming up who is very talented. He is only 17 years old. He has developed so quickly that now it’s about learning how to manage the tires and all those things.” However, the Austrian is not pushing the Italian towards Williams, according to James Vowles, head of the Grove team.
The two men exchanged messages last weekend, with the former chief strategist of the German team being impressed by Antonelli’s overtake at the bottom of the Raidillon de l’Eau Rouge on Franco Colapinto, even though the track conditions were wet and slippery.
« It was against Colapinto, our own driver. He went on the inside and didn’t back off. And for all those who have at least been in a racing car, you know how difficult this overtaking was. In wet conditions, it’s not just a question of courage, it’s also a question of skill. What Kimi did is really impressive », Vowles commented.
A shorter end to the season than expected for Logan Sargeant?
However, despite some speculations suggesting that the Prema driver could go to Williams this season to gain experience before going to Mercedes, James Vowles wants to keep his current duo while acknowledging that Sargeant must improve before the end of the season and that, if he doesn’t succeed, the British engineer could reconsider his options.
« From my point of view, as I said before, I prefer to give Logan all the opportunities to succeed and become a professional race car driver in the long term. What I weigh and the reason why I did not give an absolute yes is that when we make this car faster, and we will make it faster, I have the responsibility to finish as high as possible in the championship. And if he succeeds, great. And if he does not succeed, then I will have to reconsider my options.
Williams’ boss is therefore not completely closing the door on bringing the Italian to his team this season, even if he explained that Toto Wolff is not very inclined to accept this initiative, preferring that the Italian gain even more experience in the Formula 2 environment.
Translate: « So what I would like to see from him is for him to do his best and learn from his mistakes. And continue to lead the team. In order to improve performance. Tire management. Reading the race. Reading the tire. » Since the beginning of the season, Antonelli has met expectations, with notable wins at Silverstone in the sprint race and in Hungary in the main race.
With 87 points on the scoreboard, he clearly outperforms his teammate Oliver Bearman, who is more experienced in this category and will join Haas next year. These results pave the way for a future arrival at Mercedes in 2025, as confirmed by Toto Wolff: « He will arrive in F1 in 2025. »
By then, James Vowles stated that Williams will bring upgrades in the upcoming Grand Prix to help Sargeant regain confidence and performance. There will be updates after the summer break, hopefully at Zandvoort and then at Baku/Singapore, which should allow us to be in a position to fight for points. Logan Sargeant is therefore under pressure, and new poor results could see him leave the world of Formula 1 sooner than expected.
