“Desperation from Toto” - Fans react to reports of Logan Sargeant getting replaced by Mercedes protégé Kimi Antonelli at Imola

Fans have reacted to reports claiming that Logan Sargeant could be replaced by Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli at Williams in the 2024 F1 Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.

Ever since the start of the 2024 F1 season, Kimi Antonelli has been in the spotlight. Though he is currently racing in the F2 championship with Prema, several rumors and discussions had taken place about him racing in F1 soon. Speculations were also made about him potentially replacing Lewis Hamilton and joining Mercedes from 2025.

In a recent journal, F1 pundit Joe Saward wrote that there is a possibility that Kimi Antonelli could replace Logan Sargeant at Williams in Imola. He further wrote that the Miami GP could be Sargeant's last F1 race.

"If Antonelli did get a dispensation, he would be in the Williams at Imola on May 19, the perfect place for a Bolognese driver to make his F1 debut. Logan Sargeant would get to race in front of his home crowd in Miami before being let go," Saward said.

Many fans on X were surprised to hear the speculation and talked about how desperate Toto Wolff must be to get a junior driver in F1, even before he finishes his debut F2 championship. Others also talked about how young Antonelli was and that he needed time to develop before entering the top formula series.

"Desparation from Toto," one fan wrote.

"This would be a mistake. Give him more time to develop as a driver," another added.

"He literally cant drive in f1 until he turns 18 in August," one exclaimed.

"Wow. I was not expecting that, but Sargeant is terrible," a fan opined.

A few fans also sympathized with Logan Sargeant and stated that it was harsh for any driver to be replaced in the middle of an F1 season.

"I hate when they decide to switch the drivers mid season. Like it’s not fair to them. If you were thinking about replacing them all this time you should have done it before the season started," a fan chimed in.

"Replacing in the middle of season?! That’s too cruel," someone felt.

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Mercedes team boss feels guilty of hyping up Kimi Antonelli too much

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has talked about how he hyped up Kimi Antonelli too much, something he is guilty for.

Speaking recently to the media, including Sportskeeda, Wolff initially talked about Prema Racing's poor perfomance in F2 Sakhir sprint and feature races. The Mercedes head further added that he would take time to find drivers, but mentioned that he has been forced to hurry by Lewis Hamilton.

He said:

“But I think, like I’ve always said, I’m almost guilty of talking [Antonelli] up too much. We’ll see how the next few races pan out. I’m in no hurry for us to take a decision on drivers. I’ve been rushed in a hurry by Lewis, so this time around I’m going to take it easy and evaluating the market.”

Ever since Lewis Hamilton announced that he would be joining Ferrari from 2025, Mercedes has been searching for a competent driver to replace the seven-time world champion. As of now, the Silver Arrows have not yet chosen a replacement.