Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has dismissed any suggestion that junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is set for a quick move to Formula 1 this year.
Tags: Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes Toto Wolff Williams Published 05/04/2024 — GPF1.cz
Mercedes is evaluating Antonelli as an option to replace Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari in 2025, combined with this year’s Formula 2 season with the Prema team and private testing in the Brackley team’s previous F1 cars.
However, in recent days the 17-year-old Mercedes academy member has also been talked about as a possibility to replace Williams’ Logan Sargeant this year, should the Grove team decide to change drivers. The idea gained momentum on Friday after it emerged that the FIA had received an exemption request, believed to have been made directly by Williams, to grant the Italian youngster the necessary super license to start in F1 before he reaches the minimum age of 18.
Antonelli will not turn 18 until the end of August, fueling speculation that he is preparing to make his F1 debut before the summer break.
However, in an interview with Autosport, Wolff completely ruled out the idea, stating that Mercedes is not interested in changing its original plans with the youngster.
“Granting a waiver was something we didn’t come up with, and we certainly said from the beginning that it wasn’t something we were going to pursue,” Wolff said. “I don’t know where the belief that Mercedes was interested in pushing it comes from. Kimi has to focus on his F2 season and he knows it.
Everything else is just rumors that keep spreading and are factually incorrect. He’s an F2 driver for Prema, that’s what he does and that’s what we’re all focused on.”
Wolff stressed that Mercedes will continue to be careful not to overburden Antonelli with a promotion too early given his rapid rise through the junior series and lack of experience.
“Until 15 months ago he was sitting in an F4 car,” he said. “We have great confidence in Kimi, his abilities and also his future. However, there is a trajectory that needs to be carefully followed and not try to dream of jumping from series to series in a way that definitely does not benefit him. I don’t think the champion will be distracted by anything like that. But it certainly distracts me at least, because everyone asks me: ‘What about Kimi’s participation in Imola?
This won’t happen. This is not something Mercedes wants. These rumors took on a spin of their own. Let’s do Formula 2. We as a team have a lot of other problems to solve.”
Wolff made it clear that Mercedes had never expressed an interest in Antonelli’s rapid entry into F1 and suggested that the waiver request was something done by a third party.
“I think this exemption is probably something that has gained some momentum as more and more people have flirted with the idea,” he said. “But it’s certainly not something we would ever push for on our end.”
Wolff said Mercedes is happy with the progress Antonelli is making, comparing him to the highly-rated F1 debutant Oliver Bearman of the Ferrari Jeddah team so far. He also completed the first F1 test with the 2021 Mercedes W12 car at the Red Bull Ring last month, followed by a test at Imola with the newer but more difficult-to-drive 2022 W13 car.
“It’s completely on the trajectory we expected,” Wolff said of his protégé’s progress. “There are easier days, there are harder days. I think there are a few issues that need to be resolved between the two drivers and the team, but it’s not unexpected. And the testing is going very well and we are approaching it with calmness and equanimity. That’s what we planned before the season, a solid F2 season and testing for Mercedes, and we’ll just continue with that. Everything else is just a distraction for all of us.
With George [Russellem] we are extremely satisfied. He will continue to be a driver for this team. And everything else we see how we do in the rider market.
It’s not going to happen in the next few weeks or months.”
