Toto Wolff tells Kimi Antonelli what he ‘needs to learn’ amid fresh Carlos Sainz to Mercedes talk

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Kimi Antonelli has looked on course to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for months. But the move has now been cast into doubt.

Toto Wolff has held out hope of signing Max Verstappen from world champions Red Bull. While his father Jos was seen entering the Mercedes hospitality at the Austrian GP amid a dispute with Christian Horner, the driver himself says he intends to stay.

That has forced Wolff to turn to his more realistic alternatives. He’s been able to bide his time in the case of Antonelli because he’s already on Mercedes’ books as an academy driver.

The Italian boasts an exceptional record in the junior formulae. He’s won four single-seater titles in the last two seasons, drawing comparisons to Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

But he’s also only 17 years old. Nico Rosberg is among those to have warned Mercedes that it may be ‘too early’ for him to join a top F1 team.

In terms of more established drivers, Carlos Sainz is the top free agent on the market this year. He had seemed on course to join Alpine, but now his Mercedes prospects appear to have been revived.

Toto Wolff says Kimi Antonelli must improve race starts

Wolff said earlier this week that Sainz remained an option for the Silver Arrows. And Auto Motor und Sport report that they’re considering whether to sign him amid Antonelli’s underwhelming performances in Formula 2.

Heading into the British Grand Prix weekend, the Italian ranked ninth in the championship. That puts him five places above Oliver Bearman – recently confirmed as a Haas driver – as Prema struggle to get to grips with the new F2 specifications.

But regardless of that context, it seems Mercedes expected more. In Austria, Antonelli failed to score a single point while teammate Bearman took victory in the Sprint Race.

Wolff says poor starts were partly to blame for those results and called for the teenager to address the issue. He’s carefully watching how he responds to the significant ‘pressure’ he’s facing this year.

• READ MORE: Who is Mercedes academy driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli? Everything you need to know

“The season has been a bit tricky because overall the two have not been on a level and I think the team recognises that,” Wolff said in the team principals’ press conference. “That wasn’t great, but last weekend was pretty good.

“The pace was there, there were mistakes in getaways, so that’s something a rookie needs to learn, that’s clear. But he has a lot of pressure.

“He’s being talked a lot about. His junior formula and go-karting track record is one of a kind. And that’s clear that the pressure ramps up.”

Why Fernando Alonso didn’t join Mercedes for 2025

Mercedes may ultimately decide that Antonelli would be better served either spending a second year in F2 or making his F1 debut with a team further down the grid. Williams could be an option, with James Vowles considering whether to replace Logan Sargeant midseason.

The Grove outfit previously trained up Mercedes junior George Russell over a three-year period. But it’s unclear, based on his recent comments, whether Wolff believes Antonelli is ready to step up to F1 within the next couple of months.

If they don’t hire him for 2025, then they’re likely to make a short-term signing to ensure they don’t block his path. Some may wonder, then, why they haven’t picked up a legendary veteran like Fernando Alonso.

The two-time world champion was approaching the end of his contract with Aston Martin, and Wolff admits they did consider a move. However, he wanted to stay put, and his history with McLaren-Mercedes in 2007 would have been a complicating factor too.