Toto Wolff reveals when he ‘made up his mind’ about Kimi Antonelli promotion
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reveals the timeframe for the decision to promote Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff says he decided Andrea Kimi Antonelli would be Lewis Hamilton’s replacement “five minutes” after the seven-time world champion told him he was joining Ferrari.
18-year-old Antonelli was confirmed as George Russell’s new teammate from 2025 by Mercedes on Saturday. The Italian will take the seat vacated by Hamilton, who is joining Ferrari.
Hamilton’s sensational switch to Ferrari was announced in February and Wolff has claimed he “immediately” knew he wanted Mercedes protege Antonelli to be the 39-year-old Briton’s successor.
“I made up my mind five minutes after Lewis Hamilton told me he was going to Ferrari,” Wolff said.
“Obviously we were discussing with other options, and obviously the Max idea couldn’t be discounted completely looking at what happened at Red Bull, but instinctively that is the line-up with these two that I always wanted.
“Bearing in mind the fast tracking that we did with Kimi and everything that we did there too, but it was immediately what I wanted to do.”
Mercedes did not reveal details about the length of Antonelli’s contract, while Russell’s existing deal is due to expire at the end of next season.
But Wolff stressed the pair are the “future” of Mercedes.
“We have contracts with George and Kimi that go much longer that are very complicated in terms of options etcetera,” he explained.
“This is a pressure cooker, Mercedes always has been a pressure cooker, but this is where we stand as a team today, we want to go with these two.
“Like we have done in the past, we have always had very short contracts. Even with Lewis the last time it came around it was one plus one. This is in a way how the team operated.
“But I think what’s most important is to see how George and Kimi settle in, and I see no reason at that stage not giving them the faith and the trust of going forward.
“What that means for the terms is something that we will discuss between ourselves, but we wouldn’t have gone for the line-up with these two if we wouldn’t believe 100 percent that they are the best choice for Mercedes.”
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
