Mercedes F1 boss names driver in 'strongest position' to replace Lewis Hamilton

11 April 2024 , 09:49

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Toto Wolff must decide who will take over from Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes (Image: Getty Images)

Toto Wolff said teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli is in the "strongest position" of all the candidates to replace Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton is heading to Ferrari at the end of this year, meaning Wolff has the unenviable task of finding someone to fill the shoes of the seven-time Formula 1 champion. That hunt began the moment the Briton told him he was leaving, but the team principal insists he won't be rushing into a decision.

That said, he clearly has a favourite in mind. Speaking to Chinese outlet Xinhua, Wolff heaped praise upon Mercedes' 17-year-old Formula 2 prospect Antonelli and made it clear that, if he meets targets this year, he stands a great chance of landing an F1 debut with the Silver Arrows.

He said: "[Antonelli] is definitely a very strong contender. I want to see how his F2 season develops, but we will wait and see what happens with some of the other drivers in F1. I don't doubt his raw speed, talent and ability.

"We wouldn't have supported him from go-karting until now if we didn't believe that he has the potential to go into F1 and do so with Mercedes. Many young drivers have shown in the past that you can do that step.

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"My feeling at the moment is that I don't want to rush [the decision], because Kimi is part of the ideas for next year and is very much in the strongest position, and that's why we don't need to rush into any other decision.

"Obviously, some of the other top drivers are going to make a decision on what to do soon, but there's a feeling that points me in a direction not to take the decision too quickly."

Wolff admits that it is "a risk" to go about it this way. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso are proven F1 stars with bags of experience, but by waiting Mercedes could miss out on both of them with other top teams also in the market for fresh blood ahead of next season.

And, as for losing Hamilton, the Austrian says he has come to terms with his driver's impending departure. He added: "I always expect to lose a driver. Drivers sometimes change their opinion about where they want to race, and you just need to accept that, because they have a limited shelf-life in F1.

"Your career can maybe go into your 40s if you're one of the top guys, but then it ends, and you need to maximise your opportunities. Therefore, what maybe surprised me was the timing, but the [decision to leave], not at all."

Daniel Moxon