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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has made a shocking claim about the qualifying order ahead of the Imola Grand Prix. The Austrian said that reigning constructors champions Red Bulls are on the same pace as his struggling side at Imola. Wolff further added that McLaren and Ferrari are quicker than both the teams.
This comes as a surprise, given Red Bull has won 4 out of the first 6 races this season. In contrast, the Brackley-based outfit has failed to earn a single podium so far.
Mercedes have struggled all season long with both, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell failing to make any kind of impact. However, team principal Toto Wolff is confident about their upgrades this weekend.
Karun Chandhok asked the Austrian about the qualifying pecking order at Imola to which Toto Wolff told Sky Sports:
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"Still positive. It's not changing a lot for us, but we are a bit closer to the pack ahead. Our development direction is clear now. I think McLaren on a single lap and long run are a good chunk faster, but then, it is all of us bunched up."
He added:
"I think it will still be the Ferraris and then probably the Red Bulls and us, but closer together"
Max Verstappen suffered his first defeat on track this season as Lando Norris secured his maiden F1 win at Miami. Meanwhile, Mercedes still struggled to find the pace.
Moreover, the Austrian also talked about potentially seating the 'next Max Verstappen' in the Brackley-based team to replace Lewis Hamilton next year.
Mercedes engineers "devastatingly impressed" by Kimi Antonelli, says Karun Chandhok
Whilst Toto Wolff has expressed his clear desire to replace Lewis Hamilton with Max Verstappen, he might be faced with a dilemma due to Kimi Antonelli's impressive testing timings. The 52-year-old discussed the young Italian's chances of getting the Silver Arrows seat ahead of the Imola Grand Prix.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wolff said:
“For the Italians, it is super exciting to have Lewis Hamilton in red next year. We will get used to the outfits. But we’ve got to look at ourselves and maybe there is an option that we shine more with an Italian in our car.”
Karun Chandhok further described what Mercedes engineers claimed about the Italian F1 prodigy. The former F1 driver said:
"I saw him firsthand, it was earlier this year, he was testing an F1 car and it was devastatingly impressive."
Chandhok also claimed the driver coaches were all "unbelievably impressed" by Antonelli.
"The line I got from the engineer was he’s the best driver we’ve seen in an F3 car since Max Verstappen.”
Who do you think is the best bet for Mercedes' 2025 seat? Should Wolff wait for Verstappen to replace Hamilton or does Kimi Antonelli deserve a shot?
