Wolff lavishes potential Hamilton replacement after STUNNING display

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has lavished praise on to Lewis Hamilton's potential successor after a stunning display at the British Grand Prix.

Junior star and Formula 2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the man tipped to replace Hamilton at Mercedes when he makes the switch to Ferrari, and his drive at Silverstone certainly did not harm his chances.

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Antonelli has recently admitted that he has struggled to deal with the pressure of reports linking him with being the next in line to the Hamilton throne. Perhaps as a result, the Italian has had a tricky debut campaign in F2, currently sitting 8th in the drivers' standings.

Any pressure was dashed aside at Silverstone last time out, however, where the Italian took a stunning F2 sprint victory in wet conditions.

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Toto Wolff on Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Wolff has now suggested that in winning at Silverstone, Antonelli has taken a lot of pressure and weight off his shoulders, praising his display in the wet as 'walking over water'.

"Yeah, it was [important]," Wolff reflected on Antonelli's win to Motorsport Week.

“It was so difficult this year, because the car, you can see that, him and [Oliver] Bearman are struggling a lot with the car, and he isn’t happy with his driving.

“Not the pace in the race, but he was simply stalling twice, and that could have been avoided.

“But seeing him on Saturday, walking over the water, in the time, is bigger than everybody else, you can see the talent and the ability and the potential this young man has.

“Winning that race, he took a lot of weight off his shoulders.”

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