Toto Wolff was desperate to avoid Max Verstappen repeat after Lewis Hamilton ‘curve ball’

Toto Wolff says he wanted to avoid missing out on Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli like he did with Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton’s shock decision to leave Mercedes after 12 seasons in order to join Ferrari from 2025 left the Silver Arrows scrambling for a replacement to partner George Russell.

Wolff publicly courted Verstappen amid turmoil at Red Bull last year but when it was clear he would not be able to poach the Dutchman, Mercedes instead opted to promote teenage protege Antonelli after just a single season in Formula 2.

Speaking on the Armchair Experts with Dax Shepard podcast, Wolff explained how he wanted to avoid Antonelli potentially looking elsewhere if Mercedes did not offer him a full-time seat.

Wolff was previously burned when Mercedes tried unsuccessfully to sign Verstappen while he was in Formula 3. Verstappen instead joined Red Bull and was swiftly placed into a race seat with Toro Rosso for 2015, before being promoted to the senior team four races into the following season.

Hamilton’s exit ultimately paved the way for Antonelli to get a Mercedes drive earlier than originally planned.

"It was a curve ball thrown at us, and it still feels weird that he's gonna wear Ferrari overalls and drive the red car," Wolff said of Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes.

"It's just a bit surreal. But we had this 17-year-old in the pipeline [Kimi Antonelli]. I didn't want to miss out on him, like I did with Max [Verstappen] back in the day, [when] I didn't have a car [for him], so that is all falling into place.

"And I can kind of get where he's coming from, because we weren't successful. Our car was not quick enough, certainly he had a mega offer on the table, [and] every Formula 1 driver wants to drive a Ferrari.”

Wolff ‘couldn’t make decision’ to ditch Hamilton

Hamilton, who signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes in the summer of 2023, chose to active a break clause in his contract in order to make the switch to Ferrari.

By taking his future into his own hands, the seven-time world champion spared Mercedes from having to make a potentially difficult call at the end of 2025.

Wolff admitted he was “absolutely” relieved that he did not have to face the dilemma of deciding when Hamilton exited Mercedes.

"I couldn't make the decision from a personal standpoint - we owe him so much,” the Austrian said.

"And I didn't want to do the decision, as Mercedes, letting the greatest champion ever go.

"Maybe he felt that also, that's part of it, and he knew that Antonelli was in the pipeline. It was something that I almost had in the back of my mind, that that would happen."