Lewis Hamilton knew Kimi Antonelli would take his Mercedes seat ‘no matter what’ before Ferrari move

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Kimi Antonelli has been Toto Wolff’s golden talent for some time, and he even had him lined up to replace Lewis Hamilton ‘no matter what’ he did in his final year at Mercedes.

Hamilton had been struggling with the ground-effect cars, regularly beaten by George Russell and going two-and-a-half years without winning a race. The seven-time champion decided to leave Mercedes for Ferrari before the 2024 season started.

Is Kimi Antonelli about to run away with the championship, or will it be close?

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Hamilton and Antonelli had tough first seasons with their respective teams in 2025. But in 2026, they are both in their stride, with Antonelli winning his fifth consecutive race in Monaco and Hamilton moving to second in the standings with another P2.

Wolff’s decision to promote Antonelli has paid off handsomely, and it is a move that he planned to make regardless of what Hamilton did in 2024.

Kimi Antonelli was chosen to replace Lewis Hamilton ‘no matter what’ he did at Mercedes in 2024

That is according to journalist Julianne Cerasoli, who claims that Antonelli would have joined Mercedes ‘no matter what’ Hamilton did in his final year. He would win two races in 2024 and finish seventh in the standings.

It explains why he jumped ship to Ferrari for 2025 before the 2024 campaign started. Cerasoli discussed on her YouTube channel: “And lots of people are asking: ‘Oh, so Kimi is Toto’s pick and Kimi has priority at Mercedes?’ Exactly. Well, Kimi is Toto’s pick, that’s very clear. That’s been very clear all along.

“Remember why Hamilton left Mercedes a year before his contract ended? Because he knew that no matter what he did in that final year, Toto had decided to bring in Kimi. That’s why he made that move and went to Ferrari early.

Lewis Hamilton believes he’s got what it takes to win the 2026 championship🏆 How do you rate his chances?

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“So Kimi is Toto’s pick. Yeah, Kimi is a driver who showed time and again that he was very fast in his first year, last year. He struggled, and of course, when Mercedes changed the suspension, it took him a while to get to grips with it and so on.

“He had that difficult phase in the championship that started precisely at that point in the year, right, from Imola onwards and then Spain and all the rest, but it had to do with the change to the Mercedes suspension, yet even so he showed plenty of pace here, here, here, here.”

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Can Lewis Hamilton catch Kimi Antonelli in 2026?

Wolff’s masterplan is working a treat in 2026, as his young Italian holds a 66-point lead in the standings after his latest triumph in Monaco. He has even said that Antonelli has replaced Hamilton as Mercedes’ ‘rock star’, citing his rise in popularity.

It has grown so much that it is even being said that Antonelli is becoming bigger than Ferrari. As it stands, he has scored only nine points less than the Maranello outfit has managed from the opening six races.

But there are still 16 races to go and plenty of opportunity for Ferrari to catch up. Hamilton believes he can catch Antonelli after he leapfrogged George Russell for second in the championship after Monaco.

The problem for Ferrari is their lack of power from the engine. They are set to get additional upgrades through ADUO, but so are Mercedes, which could make the job all the more difficult.