Kimi Antonelli addresses Mercedes future as Toto Wolff talks with Max Verstappen

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has addressed the rumours surrounding Max Verstappen moving to Mercedes for 2026. Both the rookie Formula 1 driver and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell are currently due to be out of contract with the Brackley outfit at the end of the current season, opening the door to the four-time champion.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has confirmed that talks are currently ongoing between him and the Red Bull driver. But while these discussions are taking place, nothing concrete has been confirmed from either party.

Despite the rumours and uncertainty, Antonelli has confirmed that he is not talking to any other teams.

“If I’m talking with other teams? No no no. You know I got this opportunity from Mercedes, and there’s no talks with anyone else going on,” the Italian explained to Motorsport.com and other media.

“You know I think I’m pretty – I’m very happy where I am, and I’m also quite sure with the team and also what they want from me. So I think, now in my case is I need to just do my best, minimise all the mistakes and then try to deliver the best that was possible. But I know the team has a lot of trust in me, so yeah, I’m not really worried.”

The 18-year-old driver is currently seventh in the drivers’ standings with 63 points. He also celebrated his first F1 podium finish in Canada, when he crossed the line in third. 

“First of all it’s great, we are on race 12. It went by so quick. I think I’ve had quite a big highs and some lows as well,” he commented on his rookie season so far.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

“I think I’m decently happy, not super happy because I think on my side I did a bit too many mistakes and I think my approach, especially at the start of the season, was not the best. But overall, I think nowadays in F1 it’s super tight, only you look at qualifying, the gaps are super close, and that explains and really tells you how much you have to be on it, you have to be on top of the game and looking for every detail.

“Because as soon as you start a bit off you’re immediately on the back foot. And to recover is quite difficult. I think we had some really good moments, and as I said before, some bad ones, but I think I’m understanding a lot more as well and I’m more in control of the situation as well. I think this will help as well for the second half of the season. But definitely I’m not super happy but at the same time I’m not disappointed with this first half.”