Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has warned Mercedes that pairing Max Verstappen with Kimi Antonelli would be a "recipe for disaster" should a seat become available at the Brackley outfit.
Verstappen has been at the centre of rumours linking him to Mercedes for some time and, more recently, to McLaren. While neither of these moves has been confirmed, Palmer weighed in on the shifting dynamics at Mercedes and the driver market.
With Antonelli proving himself to be a championship contender in only his second season in the series and holding a 25-point advantage over his team-mate George Russell, Palmer believes the Italian has firmly established himself as a team leader.
"The only thing I see with Mercedes is if George were to leave and decide he wants to start afresh somewhere else—which is a big if—does Toto Wolff want to partner your now great talent Kimi Antonelli with Max Verstappen?" Palmer questioned during an appearance on the F1 Nation podcast alongside former IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe.
"That feels like it’s a recipe for disaster. Now Kimi, I think, has proven he's a number one driver. He's not about to come in and play second fiddle. Kimi's almost upped his level to a point that if George goes, Max is not the ideal replacement anymore."
Host Tom Clarkson added, jokingly: "You say recipe for disaster, but absolute box office for us."
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff recently confirmed that he was keen to retain his current driver line-up for 2027. "We don’t want to change things," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. "We’ve said that also to George, I think it’s a line-up that is good for us. I’m very happy with the two of them."
The Belgian Grand Prix will take place this weekend, 17-19 July, at Spa Francorchamps.
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