This might be Toto Wolff’s most candid conversation on Mercedes’ next big recruit till now. The Austrian has been on the lookout for Lewis Hamilton‘s replacement ever since the 7-time World Champion announced his exit from the Silver Arrows. Next year, as Hamilton puts on the legendary Ferrari reds, Toto will welcome a new teammate for George Russell. While there are plenty of options at hand, F1 town has been torn over whom Toto Wolff will select in the end—and now he might finally have an answer.

Hamilton quitting Mercedes after 12 years with the team is perhaps F1’s most high-profile driver transfer to date. Despite the rapport that Toto Wolff shares with the man who won 6 Driver’ Championships for his team, he never realized Lewis Hamilton would leave the Stuttgart outfit for Ferrari. But now that the deal is in place, Toto has eyes on Merc junior Kimi Antonelli as Lewis’ successor. Meanwhile, he has also expressed interest in signing current World Champion Max Verstappen if he agrees to a deal.

So, Kimi or Max? Whom will Toto Wolff go for in the end? Well, this has been F1 town’s biggest topic of discussion for a long time. And the Austrian billionaire has now clarified his stance ahead of the Belgian GP. Toto said to Autosport Wereld, “The criteria for our next driver are simple: we want the best driver available. At the moment, my first option is Kimi Antonelli.” The Italian prodigy has been on Toto Wolff’s radar because of his incredible talent. Recently, the 17-year-old won the Feature Race at Hungaroring for Prema in F2, thus proving his enormous talent to all his critics.

But while claiming Kimi to be the first option for Wolff, did the Mercedes Team Principal just pull out of the race to sign Max Verstappen? According to him, the 3-time F1 title-holder has commitments to Red Bull that he will not walk out of. So, Toto Wolff said, “An alternative scenario [to signing Kimi Antonelli] is of course Verstappen, but at the moment that doesn’t seem realistic to me.” With the F1 summer break approaching, Wolff knows he needs to decide who will be Mercedes’ new racer soon, and he does not watch to chase “unrealistic” choices like Verstappen.

However cheerful Toto might have sounded while speaking on Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes chances, he still reserves some doubts. So, what is it about hiring the youngster that seems to plague the Silver Arrows boss?

Toto Wolff is afraid George Russell’s “skills” will scare off Kimi Antonelli

It is rare for the leader of a top F1 team to take a personal interest in a driver in the junior leagues, but that is exactly what happened with Toto Wolff and Kimi Antonelli. Wolff signed him as a Mercedes junior in 2019 and has been involved in watching the racer’s development ever since. Now that Lewis Hamilton is going to leave the Silver Arrows, Toto wants Kimi to take his place. But at just 17 years of age, it might be too much for the Italian to cope with the stress of driving for Mercedes.

Speaking on his fears for Antonelli, Toto Wolff admitted, “Of course, there are risks. They are not so much in his talent as a driver, but Antonelli would be exposed to the media and to the skills of George Russell, one of the best drivers on the grid.” Mercedes is no stranger to a toxic competition between its recruits (we are talking about Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, of course). If Kimi pairs up with George, the ex-Williams racer might intimidate the young Italian and that is what Toto Wolff wants to avoid.

Well, the world is not a wish-granting factory, and Toto Wolff will never have all the things go his way. Thus, he needs to decide soon on whom he will choose as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement at Mercedes before the Briton quits next year. So, comment below if you think the lucky racer will be Kimi Antonelli–and also tell us why you think so!