Andrea Kimi Antonelli could be the driver who vacates his seat at Mercedes should Max Verstappen decide to join from Formula 1 rivals Red Bull, according to reports in Italy.
The Italian has made a bright start to life in F1, acquitting himself well at the German marque since taking the seat of Lewis Hamilton at the start of this year.
Antonelli has already taken one pole position, in the Miami Sprint, and taken a maiden podium in Canada, a race won by team-mate George Russell.
The Brit has been at the centre of speculation regarding his future with the team, as rumours have unrelentingly swirled about the prospect of Verstappen joining the team.
Russell himself fuelled these by claiming last month that the Dutchman was in talks with the team, amid a lack of progress with his own contract renewal discussions.
But Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport has reported that the team is preparing to find Antonelli a ‘temporary home’ in the form of Alpine.
The Enstone-based squad will become a Mercedes customer team from next year, and the report added that Team Principal Toto Wolff was seen in conversation with Alpine’s Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore.
Reports have recently surfaced that Alpine may be looking to sign Mercedes’ third driver, Valtteri Bottas, who is currently on the lookout for a permanent drive for next year.
But the Finn is said to be close to signing for the new Cadillac team for next year, leaving the prospect open that Wolff and Briatore’s conversations could be about the Italian teenager.
Would Mercedes risk a line-up of two number one drivers?
If Verstappen was to join and be paired with Russell, there is a true potential for fireworks, given the pair’s fraught rivalry which culminated in the now-infamous collision at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The two would naturally be susceptible to coming to blows regardless, given their stature as both being number one drivers in their respective teams.
But at the Austrian Grand Prix, Wolff indicated that such a potential issue would not be a worry for him.
“I can imagine every lineup,” he said.
“I had Rosberg and Hamilton fighting for a World Championship, so everything else afterwards is easy.
“There are pros and cons of having two drivers fighting each other hard and we’ve seen examples where that functions and other examples where it didn’t.”
The prospect has not phased Russell either, telling media including Motorsport Week before the British Grand Prix: “Every team has two seats available and it’s normal that every team is considering what the future holds.
“And I don’t take that personally, because I made it clear from the beginning, I’m happy to be team-mates with anybody”
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Really? You believe the gossip mongering Gucci clad Italian press who are more interested in where to get their next Expresso than writing real stories?