Antonelli still figures as the most realistic solution for a place in the team.
It is still unknown who will be George Russell’s teammate next year at Mercedes. It was rumored for a long time that it could be Carlos Sainz, but the Spaniard went the way of Williams, and now it is most likely that it will be the young and talented Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes say that recent progress, and three wins in the last four races, will not have any influence on who will be the driver next year. Such information was provided by Mercedes engineer Andrew Shovlin:
To be honest, how we race doesn’t affect that (driver choice). We want the two best drivers and we need to build the best car, and the team will focus on that.
But certainly where we are in the competition standings will not affect whether we are looking for an experienced or a young driver.
Due to the turbulence in the team and the not so great results we were used to in Red Bull in previous years, even Max Verstappen is being linked with Mercedes, but everything is still at the level of theories and speculations.
