Mercedes boss addresses a possible career fastrack for 'the next Max Verstappen' Kimi Antonelli 

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has addressed the possibility of Kimi Antonelli skipping F3 and jumping straight to F2. The young Italian racer is someone who everyone has kept a keen eye on. Antonelli has been part of the German brand's junior team and with the way that he has been performing coupled with the hype surrounding him, there have been reports that he might skip F3 altogether.

The Italian media had earlier reported that Mercedes was thinking about skipping F3 altogether, especially since a new car will be launched next season in F2. As a result, the experienced drivers in the series will not have the edge of known machinery over Antonelli, should he make the jump.

For now, Kimi Antonelli is a driver who has been touted as the best talent to come out of junior ranks since Max Verstappen is in FRECA and leading the championship comfortably.

Addressing a possible move to F2 and completely skipping F3, the Mercedes boss said that he would wait for Antonelli to win the title in FRECA before having a discussion with the Antonelli family.

“I think we will all hope that Andrea can make a great career. But there is always the risk that if you create too much hype around a young driver, that he’s not left in peace to do anything. He is in FRECA, and he dominated F4 last year in a solid way. He’s won those championships and won in go-karting, and he is leading the championship in FRECA," Wolff was quoted as saying by PlanetF1.com.

“We will see how FRECA goes, then will take a decision what to do, together with his father and Kimi, what are we doing next year? And in which directions to go? But I’m happy that there is an Italian in the starting blocks for a great career,” he added.

Mercedes boss could have an impressive talent at hand for the future

The Mercedes boss could have an impressive talent at hand for the team's future. If Kimi Antonelli does skip the line and competes in F2 straightaway, that is going to raise a few eyebrows. It will be a very unconventional path and prove to be an indicator of how confident the team is in the driver.

Antonelli could also prove to be someone with whom Toto Wolff tries to right the wrong of letting Max Verstappen slip through his hands in 2014. Mercedes was not willing to put Verstappen in an F1 car straightaway while Red Bull was and that meant the Dutch driver chose the Austrian team as his home.

Toto Wolff might very well be trying to set a succession plan in place for 2026 if Lewis Hamilton does not want to continue with the team.