Antonelli in '25 at Mercedes? Wolff reveals what the rationale would be

Andrea Kimi Antonelli (17) has barely completed six races in Formula 2, but the Italian is already a serious candidate to make his debut in Formula 1 in 2025. At Mercedes still, the team that included the Italian in its Academy. It is no secret that CEO and team boss Toto Wolff would prefer Max Verstappen in one of his cars in '25, but Antonelli would be an interesting alternative. Especially at the stage, Mercedes is in.

The German team is far from the form that strung together world titles for years. Mercedes are way off where they would like to be at the moment. However, there are the first signs that improvement is possible, but no one considers that the team of George Russell and (currently) Lewis Hamilton will be competing for the top prizes within a year and a half.

Good timing for Antonelli?

In a team where there is less pressure than usual, it seems seemingly easier to thrive and thus get used to Formula 1. Ideal for Kimi Antonelli, at least if Wolff gives him the chance to advance to the king class of motorsport after barely one season in F2. "I think you can look at it from various perspectives," Mercedes' team boss responded to that assumption.

"I believe that we are in a rebuilding phase. You need to acknowledge that now three years into these regulations, we've got to do things differently than we've done in the past without throwing overboard what we believe is goodness in the way we operate. And rebuilding could mean putting a young driver in there and giving him an opportunity with less pressure and fighting for victories immediately. Or putting a more experienced driver in the car. That can help us dig ourselves out of the current performance picture," Wolff said.