But according to F1 TV presenter Will Buxton, Wolff will instead gamble on 17-year-old Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes Junior Team driver is currently competing in the 2024 Formula 2 Championship with Prema Racing, and has been widely billed as a future star.
On Tuesday he drove for the first time in the team’s W12 car, which yielded their last constructors’ title in 2021. That was part of a two-day testing programme in Austria and has served as another indication that he’s part of Mercedes’ long-term plans.
Verstappen was the same age as the teenager when back in 2014, he held talks with Wolff while still at Toro Rosso. Instead, it was Red Bull who sealed his signature, a development that has since proved seismic with the Dutchman currently on track for a fourth straight F1 world title.
And Buxton claimed the previous failure to snap up Verstappen still irks Wolff, who is now desperate not to let lightning strike twice. “Antonelli is going to Mercedes, I think for me Toto has made his mind up,” he told The Red Flags Podcast.
“He wants Antonelli in the seat. Because he’s pi***d, he is pi***d that he missed the opportunity to give Max the opportunity back in 2014. So you put Antonelli in the seat.”
The Austrian has frequently insisted that he will not be rushed into a decision, but has seen his options narrowed in the past month. Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso have both signed new deals at McLaren and Aston Martin respectively, while Verstappen has also distanced himself from a move despite the internal fallout at Red Bull.
The obvious notion appeared a straight swap deal for Sainz, while Sergio Perez could also be available having not finalised an extension to his deal at Red Bull, which expires after the 2024 campaign. But the current situation at Mercedes, with the team struggling badly to keep pace with the frontrunners, has increased the likelihood of him opting for Antonelli.
Pressed on the issue this week, the 52-year-old did imply he was prepared to go back to the drawing board. “We need to acknowledge that three years into these regulations we’ve got to do things differently than we’ve done in the past without throwing overboard what we believe is goodness in the way we operate,” he said.
“And rebuild a good team. We could put a young driver in (Antonelli), give him an opportunity with less pressure and fighting for victories immediately, or put a more experienced driver in the car that can help us dig ourselves out of the current performance.”
