Toto Wolff no longer plans to recruit Max Verstappen at Mercedes
F1. Mercedes has chosen young driver Kimi Antonelli, straight out of Formula 2, to take over from Lewis Hamilton. Although Toto Wolff considered an interest in Max Verstappen, discussions with the Dutchman did not lead anywhere. The team director no longer considers the champion for his team.
The last few months at Mercedes have been particularly complicated. Lewis Hamilton, the most successful Formula 1 driver, has announced that he will leave the team at the end of the season to join Ferrari. The Briton, who has won the majority of his titles with the team, left behind a vacant seat until recently. After months of speculation, it is finally the young driver Kimi Antonelli who has been chosen to succeed the seven-time world champion.
Discussions with Verstappen's team
Previously, Toto Wolff was aiming higher. If Kimi Antonelli has never driven a Formula 1 car outside of Free Practice, Dutch driver Max Verstappen was another candidate on the list. Given the disagreements within Red Bull and Mercedes' progress, this option could have been feasible. But Helmut Marko, whose contract included a specific clause allowing the driver to leave the team, re-signed with Red Bull in the summer. So, if previously Max Verstappen could have found his freedom, he will stay with the team until 2028 as his contract indicates.
On many occasions this season, Toto Wolff had hinted that the Dutchman had piqued his curiosity. Rather open to welcoming him to the team, he had expressed the wish to one day see Max Verstappen behind the wheel of one of his cars. While he understood that this would not be possible for 2025 due to the new regulations, the Mercedes team principal had left the door open for 2026. However, Toto Wolff seems to have changed his mind now. With a new driver in his team, he prefers to focus on what he already has. "All our attention is focused on George and Kimi, and that's what I also said. There is no discussion, there is no doubt about what we are doing in 2026, because for now, everything revolves around 2024 and 2025," he said. "If any external discussions arise, then we will be informed at the same time. When we have these discussions, I have always been very open."
The director of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff, firmly rejects any further speculation regarding the recruitment of the current world champion. Focused on his two drivers at the moment, he does acknowledge having been in contact with the Dutchman. While he had hinted at his desire to recruit the champion, along with the Mercedes team principal, he has not communicated with any other driver. Leaving Kimi Antonelli as the top choice after Max Verstappen. "What I appreciated in my exchanges with them [Verstappen's team] is that everything is very clear," explained Toto Wolff at Monza. "I don't flirt on the outside. I have always said that, I may have been caught off guard by the whole situation, but I have not engaged in any discussions with other drivers because I am giving my all for the team to succeed," he finally concludes.
Kimi Antonelli, the logical choice
During the Italian Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes officially announced that 18-year-old Italian driver Kimi Antonelli would be moving from Formula 2 to Formula 1 with the German team. While the media had already taken up the subject by prematurely announcing his arrival, the official announcement definitively put an end to the rumors. However, a last doubt remained after his crash in Monza. But after a significant investment in the junior, with several private tests for the team, Toto Wolff decided to believe in his driver.
This season, the Italian has already completed around ten sessions driving old Mercedes single-seaters. The testing takes place within the framework of the TPC tests: a testing program for previous Formula 1 cars. Toto Wolff remains convinced that it is thanks to these few opportunities that his new driver is adequately trained for his arrival in Formula 1. "The TPC tests this year have been really important," he acknowledged. "We will continue on this path because, if we look at the model used at Lewis's arrival, there were many tests to prepare not only the driving, but also the management of a race weekend. This preparation, we have done," he could be heard saying.
The team manager also took advantage of his interview to address the rumors about Kimi Antonelli joining Williams. After Carlos Sainz was replaced by Lewis Hamilton, the Spaniard remained without a seat for several months. While Toto Wolff said he was not interested in the driver, the latest reports indicated that Carlos Sainz could go to Mercedes and the Italian to Williams. In the end, the opposite happened. Reflecting on an opportunity at Williams, we chose to continue with our program and to keep developing Kimi, ending with another FP1 session, then participating in Abu Dhabi and moving forward from there, concluded the Austrian.
Finally, Formula 1 has taken an unexpected turn for transfers this season. While Max Verstappen will stay at Red Bull, Kimi Antonelli will make his debut on the grid alongside his teammate at Prema F2, Ollie Bearman. With this decision widely criticized, Mercedes is taking a gamble and looking for its new champion. So far, the Italian has yet to prove himself, but with George Russell determined and Kimi Antonelli confident, the team may have found its winning duo.
