15 October 2023 , 06:00
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Toto Wolff pointed at "very talented" teenager Kimi Antonelli as the potential future of his Mercedes team.
The Silver Arrows currently have one of the strongest driver line-ups on the Formula 1 grid at their disposal. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is at their disposal, while fellow Brit George Russell has been hailed as a future title-winner.
Both recently signed new deals keeping them in Mercedes cars until at least the end of 2025. But the team knows, as much as they do not want to face the day that Hamilton walks away from F1, they will have to find a replacement sooner or later.
He will be a few weeks shy of his 41st birthday when this new contract ends. A new deal beyond that is possible – Fernando Alonso is 42 and still racing at a high level – but the reality is that Hamilton is nearing the end of his F1 career.
Team principal Wolff does not want to speak with other potential drivers until absolutely necessary. "For my life principle, I don't want to flirt around if my marriage is happy – it only creates chaos," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
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"We have a strong couple, in whom we believe, were positive with the team even when the car was terrible. Therefore we have never spoken to anyone other. There are fast and interesting drivers, there is no doubt – but we focus on ourselves and on our future men."
One of those "future men" was name-checked by Wolff in the interview. Kimi Antonelli, 17, caught the attention of Mercedes with his karting success and has been part of their young driver programme since 2019.
Over the last two years, he has been competing in various different championships at F4 level, winning four of them, and he could make it five before the end of this year as he currently leads the Formula Regional European Championship. Wolff likes what he has seen from the teenager from Bologna, but does not want to put too much pressure on him.
"Antonelli, for example, is a very talented Italian driver in whom we have invested," he said. "He won everything in F4, is leading the Formula Regional championship and has shown that he is really strong, fantastic to see. But we don't want to put too much pressure on him.
"Let's finish the work for 2023, then we'll see what to do next year in agreement with his family who is very balanced. Andrea is only 17 years old, we don't want to burn him, we have to let him become an adult. We need to do everything calmly."