Fresh Carlos Sainz blow as Toto Wolff issues Mercedes driver contract update

Following Carlos Sainz’s stunning podium finish for the Williams team, many have wondered if the Spaniard’s talents would perhaps be better suited for a major team, such as Mercedes — particularly considering the fact that rookie Kimi Antonelli has found the transition to Formula 1 to be a difficult one.

However, Toto Wolff has once again shut down speculation that a demotion for Antonelli — to Williams in place of Carlos Sainz, or to Alpine — could be on the cards.

Toto Wolff denies Carlos Sainz Mercedes swap

When news broke that Carlos Sainz would be committing to Williams for the F1 2025 season, many onlookers wondered if this wouldn’t be something of a “stop-gap” in a career that had already seen him compete for major outfits like Scuderia Ferrari. The move to Williams seemed as if it would be something of a demotion.

Sainz’s early season struggles complicated discussions about the kind of team he should compete for in the future. However, the Spaniard has seen a recent turnaround in performance that culminated in a podium last time out at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

It has drawn certain criticisms from some pundits, particularly those who have contrasted Sainz’s performance with the struggles of rookie Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes — prompting rumors to emerge that have suggested a swap for the two drivers could be in the future.

More on the future of the current F1 field:

👉 F1 2026 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2026 grid?

👉 F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the F1 2025 grid?

However, speaking to Sky Italia, Toto Wolff once again put those rumors to bed.

“The Alpine and Williams speculations are completely nonsense,” Wolff said of Antonelli’s potential ‘demotion’. “He will stay here in 2026 100%.”

While neither Antonelli nor George Russell have formal deals for 2026, Wolff has reiterated several times that the duo is set to remain into the future.

Carlos Sainz himself told the High Performance Podcast something similar, admitting that he had spoken with the Mercedes team principal while looking to lock down a 2025 race seat; however, those conversations clearly did not result in a deal.

“We spoke a lot with Toto and everyone else at the time,” he told the High Performance Podcast, “and I was certainly one of the options that was considered.

“But how close was I? You can ask Toto that. But I think he is very happy with Kimi Antonelli.”

However, Wolff’s recent admissions that the young Italian driver’s performance has been “underwhelming” have inspired ample speculation, despite the boss’ affirmations that Antonelli will remain at Mercedes.

Broadly speaking, Antonelli’s signing to Mercedes for 2025 was something of an anomaly. The Brackley-based team had never previously hired a rookie driver, instead preferring its young talents like Russell to get their feet wet in a more junior team before earning a promotion.

Antonelli’s struggles have thus been linked to his inexperience but also to a potential lack of structural support for rookie drivers on Mercedes’ end. After all, fielding a rookie — no matter how promising — is a much different task than working with an experienced driver to translate their existing expertise into a new format.

Despite that, Wolff has once again affirmed that he’s looking to keep Antonelli on the roster, no matter how successful someone like Carlos Sainz may be.

Read next: Carlos Sainz responds to Mercedes rumours of an Antonelli switch