Mercedes boss “guilty of talking Kimi Antonelli up too much” after a poor start for the potential Lewis Hamilton replacement in F2
Toto Wolff feels 'guilty' about hyping up Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli after the latter's poor F2 debut. The Mercedes team principal has also stated that he is in no hurry to find Lewis Hamilton's replacement.
Antonelli recently started his F2 career with PREMA, alongside Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman. Unfortunately, they suffered badly during both the Sprint and Feature races at Sakhir. Though Antonelli finished ahead of Bearman in both races, he was still far below expectations, especially considering the team's prowess in the feeder series.
Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Mercedes team boss stated that a top F2 team like PREMA should not be finishing in the second half of the grid.
“Yeah, a championship-winning team 17th and 18th in Formula 2, that’s not at all where they should be. I think you can look against a team-mate as one of the comparisons. I think Ollie Bearman is a top driver," Wolff said.
Toto Wolff later admitted feeling guilty for heavily 'talking up' Kimi Antonelli as a potential Lewis Hamilton replacement. He also declared that he is in no hurry to find a new driver for Mercedes.
“But I think, like I’ve always said, I’m almost guilty of talking [Antonelli] up too much. We’ll see how the next few races pan out. I’m in no hurry for us to take a decision on drivers. I’ve been rushed in a hurry by Lewis, so this time around I’m going to take it easy and evaluating the market.”
After Lewis Hamilton's shocking move to Ferrari was announced, many drivers has emerged as his replacement, including Kimi Antonelli.
F1 pundit reckons Kimi Antonelli won't replace Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes
F1 pundit Alex Jacques dismissed suggestions that Kimi Antonelli could replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes after the latter moves to Ferrari in 2025.
Speaking on the Feeder Series podcast, Jacques stated that the Italian youngster would have to dominate the F2 Championship in 2024 to have a small chance of making it to F1 with Mercedes.
“Antonelli would have to completely dominate the [F2] championship to have a chance of starting the 2025 season in that Mercedes team. I just don’t see Wolff putting someone, no matter how good they are, in that situation,” said the F1 pundit.
“You need something to lift that team. That’s either going to have to be a massive name of huge calibre or a mega talent, but I still don’t see Antonelli starting [the season with Mercedes],” added Jacques.
Kimi Antonelli joined the Mercedes junior program in 2019. He showed exceptional pace in the junior racing series, so much so that he skipped F3 and directly entered the F2 Championship with PREMA Racing in 2024.