Imagine replacing a 39-year-old 7-time World Champion with a rookie of 17. That is exactly the gamble that Toto Wolff is willing to take for Mercedes. As Lewis Hamilton, the star racer for the Silver Arrows, is leaving the team that he joined back in 2013, the Stuttgart outfit needs a replacement. Among all the options that are present for Wolff, his favorite happens to be a Formula 2 driver, Kimi Antonelli, who has not yet set foot in F1. The pressure of racing amongst the elites in the greatest motorsports championship might get to Antonelli. But Toto Wolff is convinced that the Italian knows how to keep his footing despite the ‘scrutiny’ and the ‘pressure’.

Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli currently races alongside Oliver Bearman in F2 as a part of Prema Racing. Now, Haas has already roped in Bearman as a new recruit for 2025 while Antonelli’s contract from Mercedes is still due. The youngster has made a splash in the F1 drivers’ market just like Oscar Piastri had before his debut with McLaren in 2023. The Australian has since built a reputation for himself by securing several podiums for the Papaya army. People expect Kimi Antonelli to do the same by filling the shoes of Lewis Hamilton, arguably one of the best F1 racers in history.

Living up to the standards of Lewis Hamilton is an almost impossible feat for any 17-year-old. However, Toto Wolff believes Kimi Antonelli can accomplish the job. His rapid progression from F4 to Formula 2 has wowed many, and the Mercedes Team Principal knows the pressure he is currently under. When an interviewer asked about how Antonelli might be coping with the increasing expectations of the onlookers, Toto Wolff explained as per FIA’s document: “What I like in terms of his attitude, generally his family, who has been always close to him, is the objective assessment of a situation, and that is good or not good enough.”

Wolff continued, “And I don’t think that the pressure harms at all the way he performs in the car and how he drives. He’s 17. Hasn’t even a driving license for a road car. And the best ones will be able to cope with that, with the amount of scrutiny and the pressure, and it’s going to get bigger.” Added to this, Toto Wolff had some things to say about how Kimi’s teammate Ollie Bearman is also helping him improve before his potential F1 debut. So, what did the Silver Arrows boss have in mind about the soon-to-be Haas driver?

Toto Wolff explains how Kimi Antonelli views his teammate as a ‘benchmark’

British driver Oliver Bearman has been a Ferrari junior since 2021, and he got to debut in the F1 car last year at a private test. At the Saudi Arabian GP this season, the 19-year-old got his breakthrough in the pinnacle of motorsports as Carlos Sainz was diagnosed with appendicitis. Bearman substituted the Spaniard and won 6 Championship points in his debut race. Later, Haas announced they would recruit him for their 2025 season. Oliver Bearman’s rise has happened right before the eyes of Kimi Antonelli since the two drive for Prema in F2 together.

Seeing Bearman get an F1 seat has motivated Kimi Antonelli, as per Toto Wolff. Despite being two years younger than the Briton, Kimi is inspired to attain the same results as the Ferrari junior. Thus, Wolff feels Oliver has set a good benchmark for the young Italian before he enters Formula 1. Speaking on this, Toto said, “You can clearly see it’s a good benchmarking with Ollie Bearman. They are pretty close.” Recently, in Austria, Oliver won the Sprint Race for Prema, but during the Feature Race at the Red Bull Ring, Kimi Antonelli beat his teammate as the latter DNFed. This shows the healthy competition that exists between the two prodigies.

Speaking of competition, it must be mentioned that Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes contract is not set in stone yet. The Italian has to compete with the likes of current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz who is going to need a new team for 2025 as the Scuderia will drop him. In fact, Toto Wolff also seems interested in signing Max Verstappen should the reigning World Champion activate his Red Bull exit clause and leave the Milton-Keynes outfit. Do you think Antonelli will survive the race for an F1 seat with the Silver Arrows against these big names who have already won multiple Grands Prix, while the Italian has not even driven at a test session? Tell us in the comments below.