Toto Wolff recalls Max Verstappen loss over Kimi Antonelli Mercedes deal
Toto Wolff reveals the reason for giving Kimi Antonelli a hurried promotion to F1, that dates back to him losing Max Verstappen to Red Bull.
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Kimi Antonelli, Toto Wolff and Max Verstappen, images via Autosport and Max Verstappen
Kimi Antonelli is regarded as a generational talent in the motorsports world. Witnessing his results, Mercedes signed him to their junior academy. Moreover, this investment paid off as he would replace outgoing Lewis Hamilton within Brackley in a rushed promotion to the F1 landscape. A lesson that team principal Toto Wolff learned when he missed out on getting Max Verstappen in Mercedes’ arsenal.
In his junior days, Max Verstappen portrayed his excellence throughout different realms of racing. He joined Red Bull‘s driver academy and made his F1 debut in 2015. Since then, the Dutchman has come a long way and has won four drivers’ world championships.
However, Mercedes had the opportunity to sign the young Dutchman but made the mistake of losing him to the Austrian giant, who he now races with. Verstappen became a major factor in ending the German manufacturer’s reign over the F1 world in 2021.
Moreover, the aspect of the 27-year-old possibly driving for Mercedes had he made some extra efforts still remorses Toto Wolff. This led him to quickly confirm Kimi Antonelli‘s promotion to Mercedes, in order to not lose another prodigy from their driver pool.
I didn’t want to lose Antonelli like I did with Max Verstappen in the past when I didn’t have a car for him.
Toto Wolff said (via Armchair Experts)
Antonelli already has a multi-year deal with Mercedes. However, Wolff & Co. retain the option of sacking him post-2025, if the Italian does not perform up to the expectations. Making the teenager’s rookie season a hectic one on the surface.
How Toto Wolff’s hesitancy allowed Red Bull to sign Max Verstappen
On the other hand, during 2013, Verstappen was in his debut F3 season. The Dutchman lost out on winning the title by a hefty margin, but his performances turned several heads in the paddock. This included Niki Lauda, who was Mercedes’ consultant and urged Wolff to sign the young Dutchman.
Ex-F1 driver Gerhard Berger revealed how Wolff made a huge blunder by not heeding to Lauda’s recommendation. All while, Red Bull slid in and offered Verstappen an F1 seat at Red Bull’s sister-team for his debut.
Then Niki, who was already a consultant at Mercedes, immediately called Toto Wolff on the phone, ‘We absolutely have to get Verstappen!’ But Toto retorted contritely, ‘Why should we? We have [Valtteri] Bottas and so many good drivers in our academy’… In the meantime Helmut Marko had arrived to steal Max from him.
Gerhard Berger said (via La Gazzetta dello Sport)
On the other hand, as Verstappen would soon become a father, he would like to dial down his participation on the tarmac and move towards his early retirement. Possibly ending his career as a Red Bull driver with teams regretting over the opportunity they missed.
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Geetansh Pasricha
(772 Articles Published)