Jacques Villeneuve’s surprise ‘feeling’ about Mercedes’ 2025 line-up

Jacques Villeneuve says Valtteri Bottas will return to Mercedes but only for the 2025 championship before making way for Mercedes junior driver Kimi Antonelli.

It’s the latter who is Mercedes’ future, Villeneuve saying Toto Wolff’s “ego” won’t have it any other way.

Could Valtteri Bottas return to Mercedes for a season?

Mercedes unexpectedly found out earlier this year they’re a driver short for the 2025 season after Lewis Hamilton exercised an option to leave the team to join Ferrari.

As the list has been whittled down, some drivers receiving a no and others signing for rival teams, it is being speculated that Mercedes junior Antonelli is leading the running.

It’s just a case of when, not if.

While Hamilton has urged the team to put the youngster in the car next season, telling the media including PlanetF1.com that he would “probably take on Kimi”, Mercedes are still weighing up their options.

Wolff has stated in the past that he doesn’t want to rush Antonelli’s progress with the Italian teenager having missed F3 to jump from Formula 4 into Formula 2.

Understanding that, Villeneuve reckons Wolff could put Antonelli with another F1 team, as he did with George Russell, before promoting him to Mercedes.

He reckons if that’s the case, Bottas, who has a 50/50 chance of holding onto his Sauber race seat, could return to his former team for a season.

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Sharing his thoughts on the potential 2025 line-ups, the 1997 World Champion told Sky F1: “I guess Bottas will go to Mercedes.

“They want a driver for one year. So who do they take? They take a driver who will take a one-year deal, knows the team, experience, and prepares the seat for Antonelli.

“And then Toto will have to pay a team to put Antonelli somewhere for a year.”

Asked by Karun Chandhok if he knew something that he didn’t, Villeneuve replied: “No, it’s just a feeling.”

Bottas spent five seasons with Mercedes from 2017 to 2021, winning 10 Grands Prix and twice finishing runner-up to Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship.

His stay will, however, be short-lived with Villeneuve saying it’s only a matter of time before Antonelli races for Mercedes as Wolff’s “ego” would not “have it any other way”.

“Mercedes is not really an open door,” Villeneuve said. “It’s Antonelli’s team.

“He’s the future, he’s being prepped for it, and Toto will not have it any other way.

“There’s ego in there, he will prove to the world that he was right that when Antonelli was 12 he knew that he was a future champion.”

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