Toto Wolff reveals Mercedes was planning to release Lewis Hamilton for Kimi Antonelli eventually, before the Ferrari switch came

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that the team was eventually looking to replace Lewis Hamilton with Kimi Antonelli even before the Ferrari announcement happened. The 7x champion shocked the F1 world last season when he announced that he was leaving the German team and pursuing a completely new challenge with the Italian team.

He had been a part of Mercedes since 2013, when he had made the move from McLaren. He picked up a whopping 6 world titles at the German team, with the last one coming in 2020.

Mercedes lost its way with the new ground effect regulations and struggled to be a frontrunner. By early 2024, Lewis Hamilton's patience with the team had come to an end as he pursued a seat with Ferrari. The news still came as a surprise, as just a few months back, the partnership had been extended.

While the move was triggered by the driver, Toto Wolff indicated that with Kimi Antonelli waiting in the wings, Mercedes was willing to take a risk and drop Lewis Hamilton at some point in the future as well. At that point, Kimi had just won in FRECA and was going to race for the first time in F2.

On the other hand, Mercedes was looking to field a Hamilton-Russell lineup for 2025 with the future still in the dark and a direction that could have involved the Italian. He told Motorsport,

“We were prepared to take a risk. But you can't say to a Lewis Hamilton, ‘we're finishing this’. So, he did it. And that's how it was meant to be. And that's the trajectory we're on today."

He added,

“Very difficult. That would have been a scenario that, for me, from a personal perspective and as Mercedes, would have been something that we would have dreaded to have this conversation.”

The reasons to go to Ferrari still valid for Lewis Hamilton

Talking about the call, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff felt that the time was right for Lewis Hamilton. According to the Austrian, time had come for a change for both the driver and the team. Lewis needed a fresh start after what had been more than a decade-long association. The team also needed the same as it had been struggling to a certain extent in the ground effect era. He said,

"All the reasons he had to go to Ferrari are still valid today. He needed a change of environment, and we needed a change of environment. We weren't as competitive as we would have wished. Ferrari looked better. Every racing driver wants to race in Ferrari. He likes the colour red anyway. The deal that was on the table was very good,”

Since Lewis Hamilton's call to move to Ferrari, Mercedes has started building its project around Kimi Antonelli. The young Italian has made his debut this season and is learning the ropes before he's finally matured enough to take on a bigger challenge.