Talks between Max Verstappen and Mercedes continue to rumble on, with Toto Wolff facing a driver line-up dilemma. While the prospect of bringing the four-time world champion on board is understandably a tantalising one, there is an argument to be made that the Silver Arrows’ chief should be content with what he already has at home. In George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, Wolff has two homegrown drivers with contracts expiring at the end of the year.
If he does snatch Verstappen from rivals Red Bull, one will have to go, and that decision will be a brutally tough one for the 53-year-old to make. Russell has been part of the Mercedes ecosystem for over a decade, storming through the feeder series ranks, serving his time at an uncompetitive Williams team before stepping up and taking the fight to F1 legend Lewis Hamilton. Now a four-time Grand Prix winner, the 27-year-old is a clear World Championship candidate with the right equipment.
Then, there is Antonelli. The 18-year-old was a known name from his early teenage years as he romped to trophy after trophy in his karting years. Wolff fast-tracked the Italian onto the F1 grid to avoid losing him to a rival. If Verstappen arrives, his latest prodigy will almost certainly stay put, leaving Russell the odd man out.
As Williams team principal and former Mercedes colleague James Vowles warned, this might be a risk not worth taking, even with one of F1’s all-time greats on the table. If Wolff believes in Antonelli as much as he suggests he does, for the sake of his development, Verstappen should be allowed to pass on by.
To understand why, you only have to look back at Verstappen’s F1 history. The Dutchman’s presence alongside young talents has consistently set back the development of his team-mates. This was the case for Pierre Gasly, who, after a promising stint with Toro Rosso, was demolished in the intra-team fight at Red Bull.
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He was then forced to rebuild at AlphaTauri before moving on to Alpine. The same fate met his replacement, Alex Albon, who dropped out of F1 altogether with his confidence at rock bottom before bouncing back at the other end of the grid with Williams.
Since Sergio Perez’s departure, both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda – proven F1 up-and-comers – have stalled in the shadow of one of the sport’s greatest-ever drivers.
If Wolff sees Antonelli as the future of the Mercedes franchise, the 18-year-old should be given time to develop without Verstappen’s giant shadow looming over him.