Fresh Sainz speculation as Mercedes face Antonelli conundrum

Ralf Schumacher has urged Toto Wolff to query Carlos Sainz’s contract, and more to the point, its clauses after Kimi Antonelli’s “underwhelming”, in Wolff’s words, Italian Grand Prix.

Antonelli joined the Formula 1 circus this season, tipped to be the next once-in-a-generation talent after Max Verstappen and called a prodigy by some.

‘I think Carlos Sainz would be available at any time’

Wolff was quick to quash that hype during the pre-season, telling Auto Motor und Sport: “He will only be a prodigy when he truly delivers in Formula 1. We hope it happens sooner rather than later, but certainly not right at the beginning.”

It was, however, at the beginning that the Antonelli hype began to build as the teenager clinched three top-six results on the trot at the start of his F1 career.

His beginner’s luck, if you will, faded and with that, the pressure mounted.

Having scored 30 points in his first three grands prix weekends, Antonelli added just 36 in the next 13 with the bulk of those coming from his third-placed finish at the Canadian Grand Prix.

It surprisingly led to the first words of criticism from his team principal Toto Wolff, who declared the 19-year-old’s Italian Grand Prix performance was “underwhelming” as he went from sixth on the grid to ninth at the chequered flag.

Speaking after the grand prix, he told PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher and other media outlets: “He can’t put the car in the gravel bed and then to expect to be there. All of the race was underwhelming.

“Doesn’t change anything on my support and confidence in his future, because I believe he’s going to be very, very, very good. But, today was underwhelming.”

But despite declaring his support and confidence, the one thing Wolff has not done is hand Antonelli a contract for the F1 2026 – at least not publicly and through an official press release.

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The Austrian has implied that it is just a formality for both Antonelli and his teammate George Russell, saying that he does “not think it’s going to be even a big announcement, it’s just going to give you the heads up and say we’ve put a signature on the agreement”.

But until that announcement, heads up or smoke signal arrives, questions will continue to be asked about Mercedes’ lineup, and especially Antonelli’s place.

Schumacher, for one, believes Wolff needs to make a driver change and should call on Williams’ Carlos Sainz.

Although Sainz has struggled in his first season with Williams, the Spaniard is not only a proven grand prix winner, but he now has a year’s worth of understanding of the Mercedes power unit.

Schumacher reckons Russell and Sainz would be a good lineup, depending of course on clause in the Williams driver’s contract.

“Well,” Schumacher said on the Formel 1 YouTube channel, “a rookie for Mercedes is fine anyway, let’s say now in the season where they were and in this development phase, you can do that.

“But there’s nobody big on the market at the moment where you’d say, I absolutely have to have him now, most of them are all sorted.

“And obviously, Toto Wolff doesn’t think much of Bottas, otherwise he would have kept him. You have to say that, sorry about that.

“So it’s difficult.

“Yes, the George Russell issue is a bit surprising, but maybe there’ll be a twist at some point, the punchline as to why they’re waiting so long, because I think Mercedes must be happy to have him by now, but there’s no alternative.

“So, they have to see it through for another year, and then they’ll have to see how things go.

“I think Carlos Sainz would be available at any time.

“I mean, there seem to be some clauses, I don’t know exactly, at least that’s what you hear. He would certainly be the first person that comes to mind.”

Signing with Williams last year, rumours abounded that there was a clause in Sainz’s contract that would allow him to leave the Grove team if one of F1’s top teams came calling.

Williams team principal James Vowles rubbished this.

“There are precisely 10 people in the world that know what the interior of the contract holds, just 10,” Vowles told media including PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher.

“And I guarantee you, none of you on the call is it, no one in this company is it, and particularly sat around me at the moment. The Carlos camp know, and I know what’s inside that. So anything you’ve read on the internet is speculation, and that is it.

“The message that [the deal is for] ’25 and ’26 and beyond did not come from myself, that came from Carlos. He wanted it to be abundantly clear to all of you, to the world, that he has committed and this is where he wants to be.”

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