Toto Wolff is prepared to let top Formula 1 stars sign for rival teams as he focuses on his clear top candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton - a teenager.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is only 17 but Mercedes are stepping up their efforts to get him ready for an F1 bow as soon as next year. Sebastian Vettel has admitted he would consider coming out of retirement, while the likes of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz are also strong candidates for Hamilton's seat.
But Wolff is happy to let them all agree deals with other teams and refuses to be rushed into an announcement. Speaking ahead of today's Japanese Grand Prix, he said: "We haven't taken the decision yet and it's not something that we plan to do in the next few weeks.
"The driver market is very dynamic, some of the really good guys are about to sign for some of the other teams. We want to continue to have these discussions and keep the options open, but it's much too early for us to commit to a driver, whether very young or very experienced."
That he is so relaxed about the situation is a strong indicator that he is waiting to see if Antonelli is ready for the massive jump. The Italian teenager is only three races into his first Formula 2 season - he skipped Formula 3 altogether - and has been fast-tracked thanks to his stellar record.
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An F1 debut in 2025 would be no surprise, but heads will certainly be turned if his first seat is in the Mercedes car that currently belongs to Hamilton. Wolff has made a public play for Max Verstappen in recent weeks and attempted to capitalise upon Red Bull 's internal conflict.
But Verstappen has committed to seeing out his current deal, which runs until 2028, and it seems the Mercedes chief has given up what slim hope he had of convincing the Dutchman to defect. Now, instead of signing F1's dominant force, he seems focused upon nurturing the young man who could one day inherit that title.
Antonelli will test an F1 car for the first time when he gets behind the wheel of the Mercedes W12 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on April 16-17. That was always planned, but now more testing dates have been added for the teenager later this year.
Mercedes teenager starlet Andrea Kimi Antonelli is a contender to replace Lewis Hamilton (Getty Images)Wolff said: "He's driving the 2021 car in Austria for the first time. We want to give him a feeling of what a really good car feels like before we put him in the '22. Obviously, he's been our young boy for a long time... we're keen to see what he's able to do in a Formula 1 car."
An F1 debut at the start of next season would make Antonelli the sport's third youngest ever driver, behind only Verstappen and Lance Stroll. Oliver Bearman currently holds that place in the history books, after his stellar debut for Ferrari in Jeddah last month.
And Wolff admitted the British teenager's excellent performance strengthened the case for talented youngsters to be given their shot by top teams. He added: "Bearman was refreshing to look at, how competitive he was in Saudi Arabia. No free practice, high-speed, complicated track and he was right up there. So Kimi will be doing just fine."
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