Lewis Hamilton F1: Toto Wolff hints at major milestone in Mercedes replacement search

Toto Wolff, Mercedes, Austria, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Wolff hints at major milestone in Hamilton replacement search

Mercedes have a big call to make!

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Monday 15 July 2024 09:57

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Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has hinted that Lewis Hamilton's replacement at the team has hit a major milestone following some recent success.

Junior star and Formula 2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been hotly tipped to replace Hamilton at the Silver Arrows when he departs for Ferrari.

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Antonelli, however, has recently admitted that he has struggled to deal with the pressure of reports linking him with being the next in line to the Hamilton throne.

Perhaps as a result, the Italian has had a tricky debut campaign in F2, currently sitting eighth in the drivers' standings.

Any pressure was dashed aside at Silverstone last time out, however, where the Italian took a stunning F2 sprint victory in wet conditions over the weekend of the British Grand Prix.

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Wolff has now suggested that in winning at Silverstone, Antonelli has taken a lot of pressure and weight off his shoulders.

Should that be the case, Antonelli's performances from here on out could improve, boosting his chances of being the man to step in when Hamilton departs given that Wolff has previously declared that the team are very much focused on the Italian in their search.

"Yeah, it was [important]," Wolff reflected on Antonelli's milestone victory to Motorsport Week.

“It was so difficult this year, because the car, you can see that, him and [Oliver] Bearman are struggling a lot with the car, and he isn’t happy with his driving.

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“Not the pace in the race, but he was simply stalling twice, and that could have been avoided.

“But seeing him on Saturday, walking over the water, in the time, is bigger than everybody else, you can see the talent and the ability and the potential this young man has.

“Winning that race, he took a lot of weight off his shoulders.”