Lewis Hamilton’s surprise decision to join Ferrari nearly a year ago forced Mercedes to promote 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli to partner George Russell for the 2025 season.

Hamilton’s departure came down to a break clause in his one-plus-one contract, signed in 2023, which allowed him to leave after a single year and although the Briton had often said he wanted to finish his career with Mercedes, team principal Toto Wolff’s hesitation to offer a longer deal played a big part in his choice to switch to Ferrari.

Antonelli, who skipped Formula 3 and impressed during his first season in Formula 2, was promoted earlier than planned. Despite the sudden change, Wolff found some relief in the situation, knowing it meant Mercedes could keep Antonelli in their team.

Wolff admitted he didn’t want to risk losing the young Italian, especially after Mercedes missed out on signing Max Verstappen back in 2014. At the time, Mercedes had tried to bring Verstappen on board while he was in F3, but Red Bull acted faster and secured his services. Verstappen then quickly moved into an F1 seat and is now a dominant four-time champion, with Wolff saying that the regret of losing the Dutchman made him determined not to repeat the mistake with Antonelli.

Speaking on the Armchair Experts with Dax Shepard podcast, Wolff explained how the team prioritized giving Antonelli a seat to ensure he didn’t look elsewhere. Promoting a young driver with so little experience is a risk, but Wolff believes it was the right move.

"It was a curve ball thrown at us, and it still feels weird that he's gonna wear Ferrari overalls and drive the red car," he said.

"It's just a bit surreal. But we had this 17-year-old in the pipeline [Adrea Kimi Antonelli].

"I didn't want to miss out on him, like I did with Max [Verstappen] back in the day, [when] I didn't have a car [for him], so that is all falling into place.

"And I can kind of get where he's coming from, because we weren't successful. Our car was not quick enough, certainly he had a mega offer on the table, [and] every Formula 1 driver wants to drive a Ferrari."

When asked if he felt relieved that Hamilton made the decision on his own terms, Wolff responded: "Absolutely.

"I couldn't make the decision from a personal standpoint - we owe him so much.

"And I didn't want to do the decision, as Mercedes, letting the greatest champion ever go. 

"Maybe he felt that also, that's part of it, and he knew that Antonelli was in the pipeline. It was something that I almost had in the back of my mind, that would happen."