Mercedes officially called off their pursuit of Max Verstappen for 2025 when they announced the arrival of Kimi Antonelli at the Italian Grand Prix last time out. It had become increasingly clear over the past few months that he was in line to replace Lewis Hamilton. But Toto Wolff’s team will still be at the centre of driver market conversations next year. Antonelli has only signed a one-year deal, while teammate George Russell is entering his last 12 months. There are two reasons Wolff has only given Antonelli a short-term contract. First, he wants to mitigate the risk of signing an 18-year-…
