Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has rejected speculation that Andrea Kimi Antonelli is set for a demotion to one of its Formula 1 customer teams next year.
The Italian rookie has endured mixed fortunes in his debut F1 campaign, suffering a mid-season drop in performance after a promising start.
Antonelli has come under fire for recent performances, in which he took out Charles Leclerc in Zandvoort and spun off in FP2 at Monza.
But his mature drive in Baku, in which he out-qualified team-mate George Russell and took fourth place, provided some equilibrium and much-needed positivity.
However, recent rumours have placed the 19-year-old in a situation of being dropped by the German marque. Not entirely, but down to one of its customer outfits for 2026.
It has been speculated that he could join Williams in a straight swap with Carlos Sainz, who would be able to prove his worth again in one of the so-called ‘top teams’.
Or he would partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine, displacing Franco Colapinto and jumping ahead of both the Argentinian and its Estonian reserve driver Paul Aron in the pecking order.
But Wolff, speaking to Sky Italia, has flatly quashed any possibility of Antonelli being switched.
“The Alpine and Williams speculations are completely nonsense,” Wolff said. “He will stay here in 2026 100 per cent.”
News of Antonelli’s continuity with the ‘silver arrows’ will come not only as a relief, but also with a huge degree of excitement, if early indications about the pre-2026 formbook are to be believed.
Long-established gossip has placed Mercedes at the very top of the tree in terms of powertrain performance, with teams putting the work in to find an advantage amid F1’s forthcoming new technical regulations.
Antonelli will be looking to build on its maiden podium in Canada at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, but will need to be on the top of his game around the humid, challenging and notorious nighttime street race.
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