Wolff on Antonelli: 'No acute need to put him in a car'

The FIA recently widened the rules regarding the super licence. Subject to approval by the motorsport federation, 17-year-olds are now also eligible for such a coveted Formula One licence. This rule change paves the way for talented Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli. Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, welcomes the amendment, but he is tempering expectations.

" I think the FIA has taken a standpoint saying we don't want to have a hard limit on a particular age because it could be the fact that young men could be fast-tracked if their success is outstanding. So, in a way, it's a very good thing," the Mercedes frontman told the team bosses' press conference in Barcelona.

Many thought that the rule was changed to help Antonelli on his way. But Wolff maintains that is not an issue for the time being. "In a way, that wasn't Antonelli. That was more to change something in the regulations in the World Motorsport Council that anyway was at the discretion of the president before. So for us, it doesn't make a big difference. Kimi is doing F2, he's doing the TPC testing, he's learning, he's developing, he's making mistakes, all of that together. And that is the current status. So that wasn't an acute need to put him in a car." the Austrian concludes.