After another finish outside of the points for Kimi Antonelli at the F1 Dutch GP, Toto Wolff addressed the rollercoaster of the rookie’s campaign. The Mercedes Team Principal has been immensely supportive of the young talent throughout the year.
From the moment the question of who would be filling Lewis Hamilton’s seat at Mercedes came up, Wolff was insistent on bringing Antonelli to the team. After the Dutch Grand Prix, the Mercedes Team Principal was asked about the Italian’s progress. Wolff continued to show his support of the rookie, stating:
“At the beginning of the year, or when we made it clear last year in Monza that we would give him the opportunity, it was also saying that we would give him a year of learning. Then there would be moments where we’d tear our hair out and there would be other moments of brilliance. I think this weekend pretty much sums that up.”
Incident with Leclerc and learning lessons
The Team Principal went on to address the incidents Antonelli was involved in this weekend. Firstly, about ten minutes into FP1, Antonelli ended up beached in the gravel of Turn 8, which brought out the red flag. The Mercedes driver had some understeer and an unfortunate lock up at the challenging circuit, leading to a trip into the gravel.
The next incident was a more punishing moment as it happened on Lap 53 of the Dutch GP. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made his way from the pit exit to the track while Antonelli was luring behind, coming at him. While Leclerc stayed on the racing line, giving plenty of space, Antonelli attempted to make an ambitious move heading into Turn 3. The rookie clouted into him, putting the Ferrari man into the barriers and out of the race.
“The mistake in FP1, clearly something that puts you on the back foot for all of the weekend. Then in the race, there’s moments of great driving. Moments he was in free air, he was behind the McLaren, the quickest car, caught up and then again was involved in that accident that unfortunately meant the end for Charles’ race and also for Kimi’s race.
“But we want him to go for the moves, obviously. So up and downs, and I was absolutely expected from this season and every one of those days is going to be a learning for next year. We’re not fighting for a constructor championship. Of course, it’s P2 and P3 that is at stake, but this has less relevance than next year when it’s important to score the points.”
Taking Ferrari out ahead of Monza
The collision with Leclerc resulted in the only Ferrari left standing being forced to retire. With the double Ferrari DNF before heading into Monza, the Tifosi are wary. Still, it was a misjudgment from Antonelli’s side as the teenager is still learning and settling into Formula 1. While the moment did not come with costly damage to the W16, the Italian received a 10-second penalty and 2 penalty points for the incident. It effectively put him out of the points once the Safety Car appeared late in the race to clear Lando Norris’ MCL39.
When asked about if taking a Ferrari out ahead of Monza will affect Antonelli going into the Italian GP, Wolff explained his own thought process.
“Well, you know, I was thinking in the race, what would it have been if Kimi would have overtaken a Ferrari? I think the people in Italy would have been happy. The Italian fans want an Italian driver that is fighting, that pushes the car to the limit and sometimes over the limit, and that’s what happened today. The Italian fans don’t want to have a hesitating driver.
“From the team’s perspective, we don’t want to take a Ferrari out. I’m sure that Kimi doesn’t want to take a Ferrari out particularly, but it is what it is. It’s hard racing. Unfortunate, I’m sorry for Charles and Ferrari but we want him to go for the moves and he should. “
Wolff: “He’s still a boy we’ve thrown into this environment”
From the moment he entered F2, the pressure on Antonelli’s shoulders has been massive. Already before he was considered for a Formula 1 seat, people were calling him the next Max Verstappen. Expecting greatness from a teenager before he had the chance to properly find his rhythm. Keeping in mind that the Italian skipped Formula 3, and headed straight into F2, the expectations were set early on. Even before that, the driver was a part of Mercedes’ junior programme, at only 12 years old.
After just two years/three seasons in single-seater racing, he was promoted to Formula 1. Not only was he now expected to race at the level of his heroes, he was taking over the seat of seven-time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton.
When asked about this pressure and its impact on Antonelli, Wolff candidly expressed:
“I think what plays a part, it’s not only the rookie season, what we forget is the decision we took was to put an 18-year-old in the car that had barely two and a half years of single-seater racing in him. When you see him, he’s still a boy that we’ve thrown into this environment, and I’ve seen him now, and you just want to hug him and cuddle him because he has that talent, that raw speed that is in him, and he copes well.
“But that’s also because he’s so young, I guess. He doesn’t see it as a big catastrophe beaching the car in FP1 in minute five. So positives and negatives. We were conscious, rookie and 18-year-old, when we put him in the car and that combo, certainly gives it some harsh moments.”
Meeting expectations with unpeeled potential
Over the course of the last five races, Antonelli has only secured one point. This comes after his brilliant drive to earn his maiden podium in Canada. There have been other flashes of excellence throughout his season, such as his sprint pole in Miami. When asked if Antonelli is meeting his expectations in taking up the learning lessons, Wolff responded:
“You always wish that the learning has less humps and bumps than it has today because the swings are enormous. But [the potential] is there, it just needs to be unpeeled like an artichoke where at the end there is gold. It’s there and we have no doubt.“
The Mercedes Team Principal again went on to emphasise that they are not fighting for the championship.
“In a way, why we’re taking it with a certain easiness is that we’re not fighting for a world championship. We’re fighting for P2 and P3 [in the Constructors’] and we owe it to give it the best shot for ourselves. I can cope with it easier than if it was for a championship.”
Currently, the team sits third in the Constructors’ Standings with 248 points. There are only 12 points separating them from Ferrari in P2, while they sit 34 points ahead of Red Bull.
A year of learning before 2026
Additionally, the Mercedes Team Principal was asked if Antonelli spends the year learning, does a bad weekend like at Zandvoort make it acceptable. Wolff was highly supportive of the rookie, explaining that he has full belief in him.
“No. We want to have a driver that has speed, that is fast, that learns, that scores the points, but all the big ones make mistakes. It’s difficult to compare now, because Max [Verstappen] was given a different environment in Toro Rosso at the beginning. But there were also some moments of big mistakes.
“Kimi is 18-years-old thrown into this mammoth of a team, representing Mercedes he’s going to make mistakes. Hopefully less mistakes next year and score bigger points, but my 100% belief is in him in the long term. That is just part of the learning.”
Wolff: “If the visor goes down, you have a monster”
When asked how Antonelli has changed in the year since his first F1 appearance and if he is now different as a person, Wolff expressed:
“As a person, he’s still the same, that’s the good solid character trait that he has. There’s lots of learning, but he’s still that very young kid and I see the positive in that. We don’t want this to lose because in the racing car, he’s a fierce competitor. It’s been since the karting. If the visor goes down, you have a monster. That’s what we want.“
He continued on to praise both Antonelli, and his teammate, George Russell, stating:
“It’s very pleasant to have him in the team. He acknowledges shortcomings, he brings a good atmosphere. So does George [Russell], the two of them, it’s a nice working environment. We just need to give them a car that is a little bit less tricky to drive, where don’t need to push on the edge all the time and make these mistakes. He’s going to improve and do less of them,”
Although Mercedes’ driver line-up has not been officially announced for the 2026 season, Wolff shows confidence in both current drivers. The Team Principal appears ready to go into next year supporting both the young Italian and the more experienced Russell.
