Caught off guard by the timing that Lewis Hamilton chose to sign up with Ferrari from 2025, Mercedes must go in search of a replacement. In its misfortune, the German team still has the possibility of not being under the constraint of short time, which Toto Wolff also recalled.
“We just have to make the right choice for the second driver, the second seat. It’s not something I want to do in a hurry”warned the team director this Friday during an exchange with the press, in which Motorsport.com.
The Austrian does not deny it, having learned of his star driver’s decision only this week does not make his task easier. A few days earlier, Charles Leclerc at Ferrari then Lando Norris at McLaren extended their respective agreements beyond 2026. “A few contracts were signed a few weeks ago, and I suppose we could have studied them”regrets Toto Wolff a little. “It would have been interesting, but the timing is affecting us a bit.”
Very calm despite this unexpected situation, he acts as a business leader who nevertheless prefers to see in recent events the wind of optimism that future change can bring. And if he is careful not to specify what initial ideas he may have in mind, Toto Wolff does not necessarily lean towards the most obvious or easy options that could be offered to Mercedes.
“In a sense, I always like change, because it brings opportunities”he assumes. “And in the same way that we accepted the situation with Nico [Rosberg en 2016], which was just as unexpected at the time, I’m really looking forward to making the right decisions for the team with my colleagues, and knowing who will be in this seat next year. Maybe this is an opportunity to do something daring.”
None of these three men should be driving a Mercedes in 2025… a priori!
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
At Mercedes, the contract already in place with George Russell for 2025 is also a source of serenity to weather the storm. “Knowing that we have a driver of this level makes the decision for the second seat much easier to make”insists Toto Wolff before recalling that the field of possibilities is perhaps not as restricted as one might think.
“I haven’t yet thought carefully with the team about the direction we want to take, from a rookie to an experienced driver, because I don’t yet know what is best for any driver who arrives, nor for the team. If I had been told two days ago that Lewis was going to Ferrari, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible. So things can change quickly. Contracts are only as good as “The driver and the team want to race together. And who knows what will happen in the transfer market? It could be unexpected and an opportunity for us.”
Asked about the youngster’s future Andrea Kimi Antonelliwhich Mercedes has been nurturing for several years, he nevertheless takes care to spare the young Italian from any unnecessary and additional pressure.
“Kimi has been at Mercedes since he was 11 years old. He participated in the junior program and his career so far has been a success. The most important thing at this stage is that he focuses on F2. If we starts to turn his head or start rumors in the press about him, it’s not going to help his F2 season. He only left karting a few years ago, and he’s not even 19 “So I would prefer not to start speculating about the possibility of him getting to Formula 1 at this stage.”
