Wolff: Inviting Antonelli was my first reaction

During the race weekend in Monza, Mercedes announced the signing of Andrea Kimi Antonelli to replace Lewis Hamilton. Team boss Toto Wolff said Kimi was his first choice, but the final decision was made some time later at a board meeting in Stuttgart.

Toto Wolff: “Thanks to the peculiarities of my upbringing, I do not experience any difficulties in making decisions. These kinds of things come completely naturally to me. My first instinctive reaction was, “This is an opportunity for Kimi.”

But on the other hand, there was a Formula 2 season ahead and a lot of tests to be done for Kimi, so you had to step aside and say: “Wait a minute, this is just your instinctive reaction.”

I understood that most likely the contract would be signed with Kimi, but there were several important points where I had to act rationally and logically, as well as consult with all the good people I work with at Mercedes. It was necessary to find out the opinion of Ola Källenius and Markus Schafer from Stuttgart and consult with them before making a final decision.

The decision was made together with Ola, but with us at the time were Gwen Lagrue, who runs our youth program, James Ellison and Bradley Lord. They confirmed my original instinctive decision.”