Ralf Schumacher says he would send Kimi Antonelli to £1.18bn-valued F1 team to sign Max Verstappen for Mercedes

Follow us on Google Discover

The future of Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli is one of the topics of conversation being discussed at Spa this weekend.

The start of the Belgian Grand Prix was delayed due to heavy rain, with visibility extremely poor for every driver behind McLaren polesitter Lando Norris.

Mercedes’ hopes of scoring points appeared to fall on the shoulders of George Russell after qualifying.

Russell qualified sixth, but Kimi Antonelli had a Friday and Saturday to forget at Spa.

Antonelli spun in Sprint qualifying, and from the back of the grid, he had no hope of finishing in the points.

The teenager was then eliminated from Q1 in qualifying for Sunday’s race, once again failing to extract the maximum potential out of the car.

Damon Hill has admitted he’s worried about the hype surrounding Antonelli, as the 18-year-old has only scored points once in the six race weekends leading up to the Belgian Grand Prix.

Mercedes have been heavily linked with Max Verstappen for next season, and while a move seems unlikely at this stage, neither Antonelli nor Russell have signed contracts for 2026.

Team principal Toto Wolff will want to see an improvement from Antonelli soon, otherwise he will begin to have doubts about his teenage protégé.

Ralf Schumacher has explained what he would do in Wolff’s position that would see Verstappen and Russell become potentially explosive teammates at Mercedes in 2026.

READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats

Ralf Schumacher would ‘give’ Kimi Antonelli to Alpine to sign Max Verstappen for Mercedes

Schumacher was speaking to Sky Sports Germany in the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix about Antonelli’s position.

Antonelli has been linked with joining Alpine on loan, and the £1.1bn-valued F1 team do have an open seat for 2026 alongside Pierre Gasly right now.

He said: “I would take the pressure off Antonelli and give him to Flavio. There’s a Mercedes engine in there, too. And I would let Russell and Verstappen race together.

“As a team, you can’t really let Russell go. And that would be a great pairing, the two of them.

“Both can win races. Both are consistent. Russell is also making far fewer mistakes now than last year. You have to take your hat off to that.

“Coming into Formula 1 as the new Verstappen isn’t good for anyone.

“You just have to say that. And yes, it usually takes him a long time to find his performance.

“If he’s going to become a world-class driver one day, everyone’s expectation is, of course, when will he beat Russell? And he’s too far away from that right now, that’s true.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Mercedes have doubts about sending Kimi Antonelli out on loan to Alpine for 2026

Wolff will expect Mercedes to be challenging for both championships when the regulations change next season.

That means Russell and Antonelli need to be up to speed, to avoid the problems Red Bull have had with their second cars in recent years.

Wolff has admitted his biggest regret is leaving Russell at Williams for three seasons, and that might be something he thinks about when considering whether to loan Antonelli out if Verstappen becomes available.

Alpine are currently bottom of the constructors’ championship, but will become a customer team of Mercedes next year.

Mercedes have two serious doubts about pairing Russell and Verstappen next year, and one of them involves Antonelli’s potential move to Alpine.

They feel they would lose out on precious income from their engine program, and the lack of stability in the Italian’s future might do him more harm than good.