Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff reveals the five minutes that decided Lewis Hamilton replacement

Mercedes

Wolff reveals the five minutes that decided Hamilton replacement

Toto Wolff has made a shock revelation about Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes promotion

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 3 September 2024 20:27

Toto Wolff has made a shock admission about Lewis Hamilton’s replacement Kimi Antonelli after announcing his Mercedes promotion at the Italian Grand Prix.

The 18-year-old took part in his first F1 session during FP1 at Monza, where he initially demonstrated his impressive speed on track.

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However, Antonelli pushed his Mercedes too far at Parabolica, with his car crashing into the barriers and ending his first session prematurely.

Despite the mistake, team boss Toto Wolff remained confident in his star, as the team announced Antonelli’s signing on Saturday.

Kimi Antonelli has had a successful junior career

Have Mercedes made the right decision with Kimi Antonelli?

Whilst Mercedes are one of the last teams to announce their 2025 line-up, Wolff claims that they have had their mind made up for a while in a shock admission.

"I made up my mind five minutes after Lewis Hamilton told me that he's going to Ferrari," Wolff said following the announcement that Antonelli would be partnering George Russell in 2025.

"Obviously, we were discussing other options, and also kept the Max [Verstappen] idea. We didn't discount it completely with 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 related there too, but that was immediately what I wanted to do.”

Toto Wolff shocks after admitting Antonelli promotion was always on the cards

Antonelli has enjoyed a rapid rise through the junior ranks, bypassing Formula 3 and heading straight to Formula 2 where he has won two races at Silverstone and Hungary.

"These two are the future,” Wolff added.

“They have been and will be Mercedes drivers, and therefore we have contracts with George and Kimi that go much longer, that are very complicated in terms of options.

"This is a pressure cooker, but this is where we stand as a team today, we want to go with these two.

“The most important thing 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% that they are the best choice for Mercedes."

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Toto Wolff Kimi Antonelli Italian Grand Prix