Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are about to enter their final three Formula 1 races as a partnership.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix represents the beginning of the end for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes working together after 12 seasons.
It’s been an incredibly successful relationship, with Hamilton winning six Drivers’ Championships and the Silver Arrows winning eight team titles during their time together.
However, nothing lasts forever in Formula 1 and Hamilton will be heading to rivals Ferrari at the beginning of January.
Ferrari wanted Hamilton to drive at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, but his final sponsorship duties for Mercedes mean his debut will have to wait until 2025.
Team principal Toto Wolff quickly decided who would replace Hamilton when he discovered the seven-time world champion would be moving on.
Rookie Kimi Antonelli has the inevitable task of stepping into Hamlton’s shoes, while George Russell will take up a leadership role within Mercedes.
In an interview with The Guardian, Wolff has now shared more about his relationship with Hamilton and what the Mercedes team will look like going forward without him.
While he admits that his relationship with the 39-year-old will change once he’s no longer in the Mercedes garage, he’s also explained why he’s excited about 2025 and beyond even if he’s no longer working with the sport’s most successful driver.
Why Toto Wolff is ‘very excited’ about life after Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes
Talking about his relationship with Hamilton, Wolff said: “There is an emotional side because we’ve been on this journey together.
“The friendship will change, but not the depth of emotion. On the contrary. This will be a new friendship with Lewis.
“On the professional side, I always see benefits in change.
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“We have new regulations, we have reshaped our organisation and we’re embarking on a new era with our senior driver [George Russell] turning 27 and the junior driver [Kimi Antonelli] being 18.
“We have two drivers barely older together than Lewis [who is 40 in January]. That’s very exciting.”
Kimi Antonelli is Mercedes chosen Lewis Hamilton replacement for 2025
Hamilton leaving Mercedes a year earlier than his contract was set to expire gave the team a conundrum to solve.
Wolff has been insistent that Antonelli was always his first choice to replace Hamilton and having already been confirmed as an F2 driver for 2024 having skipped Formula 3, the Italian was always on a rapid ascent towards F1.
Mercedes may have expected that jump to happen in 2026 or later rather than in just a few months, but there have been glimpses of brilliance already from the 18-year-old that highlight his potential.
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Antonelli was chosen over Mick Schumacher who is also within the Mercedes driver academy and already has two years of experience under his belt.
Opportunities in Formula 1 don’t come around often as has been demonstrated by the number of rookies entering the sport in 2025.
Even Gabriel Bortoleto – who is on course to win the F2 title – hasn’t hesitated to secure a seat at Sauber despite the team not scoring a point throughout this campaign.
Wolff will hope Antonelli has a much more successful start to life in F1 than his current Formula 2 rival, but it will take a lot of adjusting to not having Hamilton in the team in just a few weeks.
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