Toto Wolff has admitted that Mercedes are taking a “risk” by promoting Kimi Antonelli to a race seat for the 2025 season, but he is confident the Italian youngster has all the raw ingredients needed to succeed.
Antonelli was announced as Lewis Hamilton’s future replacement at the recent Italian Grand Prix, where he also made his free practice debut, completing a rise from Formula 4 to Formula 1 in just three years.
It was an event of mixed emotions for the 18-year-old, whose FP1 outing lasted just 10 minutes before he crashed out heavily, with the Silver Arrows then confirming him as George Russell’s new team mate the following day.
Asked about Antonelli’s practice outing and incident, Mercedes boss Wolff said: “That can happen. I think we don’t want to slow a driver down. We’re happy to work with someone who has so much speed, that has confidence.