James Vowles spoke about the possibility of seeing Kimi Antonelli replacing Logan Sargeant in Williams already in Imola
These are extremely hot days on the driver market front, with the move made by Lewis Hamilton at the beginning of February which triggered the classic waltz, and which still sees the second Mercedes seat available today. There has been a lot of talk about the possibility in recent days of an early debut for Kimi Antonelli, who would replace Logan Sargeant starting from the Imola weekend, waiting to understand if and when the big leap to Brackley will take place alongside George Russell.
Toto Wolff, nfirmly denying that he had requested an exemption from the FIA to allow Antonelli to obtain the superlicence while still a minor. LThe Austrian also stated that he has no intention of rushing ahead with the young Italian driver, and that he wants to respect the timetable.
Also James Vowles, when asked about the same rumor, he immediately discarded the proposed scenario: “There was a rumor going around that he would be driving from Imola, but he won’t be in the car for Imola.”
“We are currently evaluating drivers for 2026 and 2025. What we really want it’s the right combination for those two years, because when you change the regulations you don’t want to change drivers, so we look for the right match for that period of time”.
The Briton, who has been leading the Groove team since last season, praised Antonelli’s great qualities, but also said he was not particularly in a hurry to address the drivers issue: “There’s no doubt he has great ability, but 20 months ago he was in an F4 car. It’s a very different proposition than most riders.”
Read also: Red Bull, is there really a clause in Verstappen’s contract linked to Newey’s departure?
“We’ve currently spoken to four or five drivers for that period of time. I’m happy to sit a while and wait.”‘
For Vowles, at the moment, the number one priority is the development of the car, with the FW46 showing several critical issues compared to the competition: “I have a duty and responsibility to make this car faster.”
“Alex Albon is a world-class driver. We have to give him the right car to keep up with him and we haven’t done that yet, and then this typically unlocks other possibilities in the future.”
Follow us also on social networks: Telegram – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter
