Toto Wolff interview prompts Guenther Steiner to reach Lewis Hamilton replacement verdict

Guenther Steiner believes he has cracked the clues to Mercedes’ 2025 driver line-up, which will see Kimi Antonelli make his F1 debut alongside George Russell.

Steiner based that on Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff’s decision to delay an announcement as he wouldn’t do that unless “you know what you’re doing, or you have an agreement”.

Guenther Steiner’s clues that hint Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes

Much has been speculated about Mercedes’ second driver for the 2025 championship after the team was forced into a change when Lewis Hamilton exercised an option in his latest contract to leave one year into his two-year deal.

While initially it was speculated the seven-time World Champion could make a straight swap with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, as time went by that was put on the backburner with Mercedes junior Antonelli now the favourite.

Although the 17-year-old is in his first season in Formula 2 having skipped F3, he is sixth in the Drivers’ standings after two wins in the last two rounds, Silverstone and Hungary, with Prema.

Former Haas F1 team boss Steiner believes the Italian teenager will be signed as Russell’s team-mate, if a deal isn’t already in place, with Sainz joining Alpine to replace Esteban Ocon.

“I think Sainz will end up at Alpine,” Steiner told the Red Flag podcast . “I don’t think Sainz will go to Mercedes or to Red Bull at this stage.

“I think the Mercedes [signing] will be Kimi Antonelli. I don’t know why I say that but that’s my feeling in the moment.

“I spoke with Toto, we interviewed him for RTL German TV. He said he takes all his time to decide but if you take your time that means that you know what you’re doing, or you have an agreement.

“Because the only replacement for Kimi Antonelli could be Sainz or maybe [Valtteri] Bottas because he was there before. But I don’t think anyone else comes near there.”

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Steiner also doesn’t believe Sainz is in line to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull should, as is being widely speculated, the team drop the Mexican driver.

Instead, he reckons that seat will go to Liam Lawson, which could even happen as early as the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break.

“Red Bull, I don’t think they’ll go for Sainz because he left there. They have their own drivers, they have Liam Lawson lined up so they’ve got a good line-up there should Checo go.”

As for Bottas, the Italian reckons he’ll be leaving Sauber to rejoin Williams alongside Alex Albon.

“Bottas cannot show what he can do because his car is just not good enough,” he said. “I think Bottas now is the biggest candidate for Williams in my opinion.”

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