In 2025, George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli will line up as Mercedes teammates for the first time. However, these two young drivers only have a guarantee for the upcoming season. Both Russell and Antonelli’s contracts expire at the end of 2025, but according to Toto Wolff, the intention is to retain the two as Mercedes drivers for much longer.
Mercedes is starting the new season with a young line-up. The 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be the teammate of 26-year-old George Russell. The two drivers are the future, but officially their contracts expire at the end of 2025. Team boss Toto Wolff, however, assures his two drivers that there are certainly ‘options’ after the upcoming season.
“These two are the future,” says Wolff. “They are and will remain Mercedes drivers, and that’s why we have contracts with George and Kimi that run much longer and are very complicated in terms of options. This is a pressure cooker. Mercedes has always been a pressure cooker, but this is where we stand as a team today, we want to continue with these two.”
Best Choice
Wolff explains that Mercedes always works with short contracts. Even multiple world champion Lewis Hamilton did not get more than a ‘one plus one year’ contract. “The most important thing is to see how George and Kimi feel at home and I see no reason not to give them the confidence to continue at that stage,” says the Austrian. “We would not have gone for the line-up with these two if we did not believe one hundred percent that they are the best choice.”
