Wolff 'didn't want to make mistake' with Antonelli similar to Verstappen

In the past, Toto Wolff had an opportunity to sign a very young Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman in talks with Mercedes, along with Red Bull, about a contract. In the end, Verstappen chose Red Bull as he was able to make an immediate entrance into Formula 1 with then-Toro Rosso. Wolff and Mercedes missed out due to the fact that the Austrian did not have a seat for the talent at the time.

Of course, the rest is no history, with Verstappen now a four-time World Champion for the Austrian team. How different could things have been if Wolff had given Verstappen a place in his team right then? Would Verstappen have become world champion several times over with the German team? We will never know. But Wolff did learn from the situation with Verstappen, not for the first time, this time telling La Repubblica.

After Lewis Hamilton left to make the huge move to Ferrari for 2025, Wolff deliberately chose to appoint Andrea Kimi Antonelli as his replacement, harking back to the Verstappen story: "We could not make the same mistake we already made in the past with Verstappen," the Austrian states, with Wolff not wanted Antonelli to potentially walk out the door and be successful elsewhere with a competitor.

In this respect, it was not a bad thing for Mercedes that Hamilton went to Ferrari. The Briton will be successful there, says his former team boss: "Lewis is a driver who can mean a lot to Formula 1 and the team that has him. I have no doubt about that. If he has a competitive car, he is always the best. Unfortunately, we have not been able to offer him that in recent years."

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