Kimi Antonelli is the new king of F1, but two years ago, the young Italian’s promotion at Mercedes did not inspire too much confidence
Toto Wolff has revealed two high-profile sponsors pulled their funding out of Mercedes after he promoted Kimi Antonelli to F1. When he was only 18, Antonelli was named as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement after the seven-time world champion completed a move to Ferrari. At the time, Max Verstappen was linked with Hamilton’s seat. Instead, Wolff turned to Antonelli, who boasted just two F2 victories in the 2024 campaign. Wolff knew he had selected an investment for the future to replace one of the sport’s all-time greats.
The Mercedes team principal always believed in Antonelli. Unfortunately for the F1 heavyweights, two key sponsors did not share his optimism. Two years later, Antonelli won his maiden world title and Mercedes’ first since 2020. With the taste of Champagne still in his mouth, Wolff had a cheeky message for the sponsors who left.
Looking back on the ramifications of his decision, Wolff said to Sky Sports: “We had two sponsors who left us because of it. They asked me: ‘Kimi Antonelli, who is this kid supposed to be?’ And there were others who have stayed with us to this day, and they are now reaping the rewards.”
The F1 chief did not confirm who pulled their funding out of Mercedes. However, it’s known that fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger and sports goods manufacturer Puma stopped sponsoring the team after the 2024 campaign.
Mercedes went on to entice Adidas on board and were on the verge of agreeing a deal with Gilette, but they eventually decided to sponsor Audi instead.
These ramifications did not shake Wolff’s belief. Looking back on the day he decided to elevate Antonelli, the Austrian added: “When Lewis stood at my door that morning, everything was already clear to me. The moment he confirmed that he was going to Ferrari, I knew Kimi would be in the car.”
He then set about his day, breaking the news to deputy team principal Bradley Lord and technical director James Allison. “I told them: ‘Kimi is in the car.’ They just said: ‘What are you talking about,” Wolff said.
“But we had the data. We didn’t need any more confirmation. Kimi had already confirmed it through his success in Formula 4 and Formula Regional. The rest was crystal clear.”
Antonelli could only manage a seventh-placed finish in a debut campaign where he registered just three podium finishes. One year later, Wolff’s investment bared world championship fruit which tastes all the sweeter, having proved so many people wrong in the process.