Kimi Antonelli has made his feelings clear on being 'replaced by Max Verstappen' amid rumours of shock Mercedes exit
Mercedes F1 driver Kimi Antonelli has already had his say on potentially being replaced by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the 2026 campaign.
Antonelli, 18, is currently in his first season at Mercedes, having replaced Lewis Hamilton ahead of the 2025 campaign.
As things stand, the Italian teenager is seventh in the Driver’s Standings on 63 points, while teammate George Russell is fourth on 147 points, as Verstappen (165 points), Lando Norris (226 points) and Oscar Piastri (234 points) lead the way.
And despite winning the last four Drivers’ Championships, Verstappen has been heavily linked with a move from Red Bull to Mercedes for the 2026 campaign.
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Ahead of last month’s Austrian Grand Prix, which Norris won, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff confirmed his team’s interest in bringing Verstappen on board.
He told Sky Sports: "As a team principal responsible for the best car brand in the world, it's clear that you're exploring what a four-time world champion is going to do in the future. And that could be long into the future. But it has no effect on us putting a signature on George's contract."
However, if Verstappen does join the German manufacturer, one of Russell or Antonelli will have to move on to make space for Verstappen’s arrival.
According to Italian news outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, via Motorsport Week, Antonelli could be the one making way for Verstappen.
The Italian had earlier insisted that he was not worried about his position during an interview earlier this month.
Antonelli said: “I’m not really worried about myself, I’m just trying to focus as much as possible on what I have to do to deliver the best performance as possible.
“I think the team has given me a lot of trust and is still doing so, and they’re also giving me time to grow. Obviously, there’s a lot going on, but I’m sure that the team is doing their best to provide the best for the future.
“They’re not looking only for next year, but they’re looking as well for the future. So obviously there’s a lot going on, but a lot of talks, but my goal is just to try and do my best, no matter what.”
What has George Russell said about the situation?
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports back in June, the Englishman suggested that his team’s pursuit of Verstappen was delaying a new deal for him.
"Toto has made it clear to me that he thinks how I'm performing this year is as good as anybody," Russell said.
"I think there's only one driver that you can debate in terms of performance - these are his words, these are not my words - so that's why I have no concern about the future.
"But there's two seats at every team and I guess he needs to think, who are those two drivers going to be for those two seats, and I guess that's what the delay is."
Topics: Formula 1, Mercedes, Max Verstappen, George Russell
Luke Davies