Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver in the history of the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
Lewis Hamilton has managed an extremely successful career since joining the Silver Arrows in 2013. The Briton amassed six impressive world championships under the German carmaker’s tag.
Toto Wolff struck gold with the signing of Hamilton. Hence, the Austrian pointed out his ambitions to repeat this success with the prodigy Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.
Kimi Antonelli received the opportunity to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 season. The entire crew of the Brackley-based team has great hopes for the 18-year-old as a Silver Arrow. Amidst the ongoing season, Wolff highlighted his ambitions with Antonelli.
Toto Wolff claimed that he wanted Antonelli to follow a similar path to Hamilton during his debut with Mercedes. Hamilton’s development in the junior ranks and performances in Formula 1 happened when there were far more testing opportunities than what Kimi has access to now.
In addition to this, Wolff noted that with Mercedes’ recent upturn in performance, Antonelli would have a great shot at being competitive. The Italian’s debut at the Italian GP practice showcased an impressive lap time, before his crash at the event. Hence, the Mercedes boss claimed that the goal for the 18-year-old was to create a similar story to Hamilton.
F1 ‘different animal now’ compared to Lewis Hamilton’s debut era
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes debut was during an era when the team created the most dominant engine on the grid. Toto Wolff recalled Hamilton’s debut and noted that the current times were a ‘different animal’ as compared to back then. Modern racing has a lot more dimensions and facets as compared to the past, according to Wolff.
Kimi Antonelli will be the secondary racer behind the lead driver George Russell at Mercedes in the 2025 season. Hence, the Italian would have to work hard to prove his racing mettle against the prolific Brit. Regardless, the coming season would be highly exciting after witnessing multiple team changes for the drivers on the grid.