"Clearly Toto Wolff is personally invested in Kimi Antonelli": F1 pundit discusses the implications of George Russell's new teammate joining Mercedes

F1 pundit Martin Brundle reckons George Russell could be slightly nervous after seeing Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, favoring Kimi Antonelli. The Italian junior was recently announced as a permanent driver for the Mercedes F1 team from 2025.

After Lewis Hamilton announced his transfer from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025, the Silver Arrows started looking towards drivers who could replace the seven-time world champions. Among several top names, F2 driver Kimi Antonelli was also rumored to be on Mercedes' shopping list.

In the 2024 F1 Italian GP, Antonelli made his debut in F1 where he drove George Russell's car in FP1. Even though the Italian crashed out after clocking one of the fastest laps of the session, the Brackley-based team decided to announce his arrival the next day.

On the other hand, George Russell has been under the Mercedes umbrella for quite a while now. He recently joined the team from Williams when Valtteri Bottas left in 2022. However, Martin Brundle reckons that Russell could feel Mercedes swaying away from him after Kimi Anotnelli's arrival.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Brundle talked about Toto Wolff's utmost faith in Antonelli but also added that Russell remains the senior figure in the team.

"George has got to be slightly nervously looking at all of that. Clearly, Toto Wolff is hugely invested, personally, in Kimi Antonelli. I think George will, you know, occasionally be looking over his shoulder on all of that, wondering where he stands. But meanwhile, he's the Mercedes-Benz team leader, at a time where they seem to be coming good again," Brundle said.

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Mercedes team boss on Kimi Antonelli's future in F1

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recently talked about how Kimi Antonelli would face challenges in the future in F1. Speaking to F1.com in an exclusive, Wolff praised the young Italian who will be joining his team soon in 2025.

The 52-year-old then added how the team will try to give Antonelli space and protection, allowing him to grow and learn the sport. He was also well aware that Antonelli could face difficult moments and pressure from the entire F1 space, but Wolff assured everyone that the youngster would become a star one day.

“There is no doubt he has the talent, the ability, the skills – and now it’s about allowing him space to grow up within this crazy tough ruthless environment and we will protect him and allow him to grow. We expect difficult moments. People will doubt. We will see highlights also. Kimi will be the real deal in a while, maybe not yet,” Wolff said.

As of now, Mercedes have only confirmed that Kimi Antonelli will race with them in 2025. This could mean that the team might undergo another driver change for 2026 when new power unit changes arrive.