breaking news; Lewis Hamilton recalled by ferrari chief Benedetto Vigna……
In February, it was announced that Hamilton will leave the Silver Arrows after 11 years with the team to join Ferrari at the beginning of 2025.
Mercedes have been searching for his replacement throughout the current season, with surprise links to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen emerging early on in that search.
The three-time world champion last year signed a long-term contract with Red Bull until 2028, and team principal Christian Horner has said that Verstappen was ‘never’ going to leave the team.
He told Sky Sports F1: “We know what our agreement is with Max, Max knows what his agreement is with us.
“He’s certainly not available to Mercedes [for 2025], he never was.”
But Wolff has now disclosed that Mercedes did in fact hold talks with Verstappen and his entourage over a move to the team for 2025.
However, the German has confirmed that, despite those talks, the reigning champion will not be leaving Red Bull.
He has instead admitted that Mercedes are focusing their full attention on next year’s drivers – and while he didn’t explicitly confirm Hamilton’s replacement, said that Mercedes are working towards junior driver Kimi Antonelli being in the seat.
He told reporters at the Dutch Grand Prix “We’ve taken the decision for drivers for next year. Soon, we will confirm who is in the second seat.
“What I also said is that the two drivers that are in the car have our full support, 100 per cent. And therefore I’m entering the season in 2025 with two drivers that we will be giving all the opportunity to perform.
“That’s why I don’t want to talk about the 2026 driver lineup at that stage because I want to make it work with George and Kimi.”
It is expected that Mercedes will officially announce their driver lineup at the next Grand Prix in Monza – where Antonelli will drive in first practice in place of Hamilton.
The Italian, who will be 18 years of age when the 2025 season begins, has been part of Mercedes’ academy ranks since 2019 and has dominated junior formulae.
