Mercedes seems to have made the decision before 2025. The dream of bringing Max Verstappen to Mercedes will not happen, just like Carlos Sainz will not commit his future to the Silver Arrows. Mercedes therefore chose the third option: Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Sport.de reports this. The search that Mercedes started this year was not necessarily planned for 2024. Hamilton decided at the beginning of this year to play for Ferrari from 2025 and to say goodbye to Mercedes after this season. As a result, there was suddenly a seat available for 2025 next to George Russell, who still has a multi-year contract.
Article continues below video
ALSO INTERESTING: Wolff makes a decision about Sainz: “We want to concentrate on Andrea Kimi Antonelli”
Mercedes and the interest in Verstappen
Because of this, and the unrest surrounding Red Bull in 2024, there have been many rumors about the future of Verstappen and a possible switch from the Dutchman to Mercedes in 2025 or 2026. Mercedes, which actually had a fairly mediocre season until the weekend in Canada and thus continues the 2022 and 2023 season, it now seems to have given up hope of a move from Verstappen. “After Ferrari and Red Bull Racing, Mercedes has now also decided which drivers will form the driving pair in 2025. According to information from RTL and sport.de, Mercedes will start the 2025 season with George Russell and youngster Andra Kimi Antonelli.”
Wolff’s dream of catching Verstappen in tatters
According to the German medium, Wolff’s dream was to put Verstappen next to Russell from 2025 and he was willing to do a lot for this. “To be clear: Toto Wolff and his associates have given up their big dream of signing Max Verstappen. The Silver Arrows would have made the three-time world champion an irresistible offer. To get the Dutchman, Mercedes would also have been willing to sign Helmut Marko , and the team would also have entered into discussions with top designer Adrian Newey. That was to no avail.”
ALSO INTERESTING: Plooij about Wolff: “He deliberately leaked Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari”
Mercedes also sees the second option dropping out
After Verstappen, Mercedes had another driver on the list: Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard was the second option, but according to the German medium, the Spaniard is likely to sign with Williams sooner. “According to various reports, Wolff originally planned to transfer Antonelli to customer team Williams. Everything currently indicates that Sainz has now signed there. The Spaniard apparently has no interest in Sauber and Audi, although nothing has yet been confirmed about his future.” As a result, Mercedes has apparently decided to go for the third option: Antonelli.
Related
2024-06-12 09:06:30
#News #Mercedes #decides #seat #decision #dream #option #Verstappen
