Toto Wolff says he wanted to avoid missing out on Mercedes protege 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Andrea Kimi Antonelli like he did with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen.

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton’s shock decision to leave Mercedes after 12 seasons in order to join Ferrari from 2025 left the Silver Arrows scrambling for a replacement to partner 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell.

Wolff publicly courted Verstappen amid turmoil at Red Bull last year but when it was clear he would not be able to poach the Dut🌳chman, Mercedes instead opted to promote teenage protege Antonelli after just a single season in Formula 2.

Speaking 🎐on the , Wolff explained how he wanted to avoid Antonelli potentially looking elsewhere if Mercedes did not offer him a full-time seat.

Wolff was previously burned when Mercedes tried unsuccessfully to sign Verstappen while he was in 💮Formula 3. Verstappen instead joined Red Bull and was swiftly placed into a race seat with Toro Rosso for 2015, before being promoted to the senior team four races into the following season.

Hamilton’s exit ultimately paved the w𝔉ay for Antonelli to get a Mercedes drive earlier than originally planned.

"It🍒 was a curve ball t🐠hrown at us, and it still feels weird that he's gonna wear Ferrari overalls and drive the red car," Wolff said of Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes.

"It's just a bit surreal. But we had this 17-year-old in the pipel𓆉ine [Kimi Antonelli]. I didn't want to miss out on him, like I did with Max [Verstappen] back in the day, [when] I didn't have a car [for him], so that is all falling into placꦦe.

"And I can kind of get where h𒉰e's coming from, because we weren't successful. Our car was not quick enough, ꦐcertainly he had a mega offer on the table, [and] every Formula 1 driver wants to drive a Ferrari.”

Wolff ‘couldn’t make decision’ to ditch Hamilton

Hamilton, who signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes in the summer of 2023, chose to active a break clause in his conไtract in order to make the switch to Ferrari.

By taking his future into his 🍸own hands, the seven-time world champion spared Mercedes from having to make a potentially difficult call at the🔯 end of 2025.

Wolff admitted he was “absolutely” r𒉰elieved that he did not have to face the dilemma of deciding when Hamilton exited Mercedes.

"I couldn't make the decision from a pers𓄧onal standpoint - we owe him so much,” the Austrian said.

"And I didn't 🍸want to do the decision, as Mercedes, letting the greatest champion ever go.

"Maybe he felt that also, that's part of it, and he knew that Antonelli was in the pipeline. It was something that I almost had in the back of my mind, that that✱ would happen."