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Kimi Antonelli admits he was in disbelief when Toto Wolff told him he had been chosen to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Wolff received a tip-off about Hamilton’s move in January 2024, a couple of weeks before the announcement. He had a year to find a replacement, but made his mind up almost instantly.
Signing Antonelli was perhaps the biggest gamble of his career, especially given the stature of his predecessor. The Italian was still only 17 when the news broke and had come off a season racing in Formula Regional, effectively halfway between F3 and F4 level.
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Kimi Antonelli: Toto Wolff offered me Mercedes seat before Lewis Hamilton announcement
Antonelli wasn’t officially announced as a 2025 Mercedes driver until the end of August, but the decision had already been made over six months earlier. Rumours about a move for the newly-available Carlos Sainz, or indeed any other driver, were evidently unfounded.
Antonelli hadn’t even made his Formula 2 debut when Wolff unexpectedly offered him the drive. While he was caught off guard, he vowed to be ‘ready’.
“It’s February, I was in Silverstone, and I was testing Formula 3 to learn the track because I was going to race there with Formula 2,” Antonelli recalled on the SAP YouTube channel.
“I remember, at the end of the day, Toto called me over to his office. Already, I was a bit confused because that didn’t really happen.
“I got into his office; there’s Toto, there’s Rosa – she’s the one helping me during race weekends. Toto didn’t waste any time, went straight to the point.
“This was even before Lewis was announced to [be joining] Ferrari. He said, ‘Look, Lewis is going to Ferrari, and we are thinking of putting you in the car for next year.’
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“My eyes were wide open. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’
“I hadn’t even started F2. I still had so much to prove, to prove that I could earn that spot.
“[He asked] if the opportunity comes, will you be ready, and I said, ‘Well, I’ve got to be ready!'”
After Hamilton won a record six world championships with Mercedes, Antonelli knew he was replacing a legend, which only made the offer more daunting. His tumultuous first season raised doubts over Wolff’s decision.
In one nine-race spell between Imola and Zandvoort, he only scored points twice. Antonelli feared Mercedes would send him to Alpine, or fellow engine customers Williams, to gain experience.
But as the 2026 season pauses for the summer break, Antonelli has won six out of 11 races and built a 50-point championship lead. With a historic title win on the cards, it now looks as if Wolff pulled off a masterstroke
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