Wolff reaches Italian GP verdict on Antonelli... and it isn't a good one

Antonelli has been on the backfoot since the Austrian Grand Prix where he met an early demise after crashing both himself and Max Verstappen out of the race on lap 1.

Most recently he's beached his car in the gravel in several practice sessions at consecutive race weekends in Zandvoort and Italy, where he's also picked up penalty points on his license following dubious wheel-to-wheel racing manoeuvres.

Despite managing a P6 start right behind Russell, Antonelli slipped back after lights out at Monza, fropping to P10. Throughout the race he was involved in what was deemed by the race Stewards as a potentially dangerous tussle with Alexander Albon which saw him get a five-second time penalty and a point added to his super license.

When assessing his rookie driver's performance, Wolff responded a question with another of his own to GPblog.

"Did he get points?", Wolff asked aloud? With a P9 finish at the flag, Antonelli scored two points at his home race. "Alright," the Austrian added, highlighting the positive behind Antonelli's race.

Though unhappy with his rookie driver's performance during the race, Wolff reaffirmed his belief in the Italian youngster.

"Underwhelming this weekend. Underwhelming," Wolff continued. "You can't put the car in the gravel bed and expect to be there. All of the race was underwhelming.

What can Mercedes do to help Antonelli shine as Wolff believes he should? For the Austrian the answer is simple, get rid of the added weight and focus on helping him start race weekends with a clean slate, and with a trauma-free approach, suggesting the increased pressure that's mounting on the Italian youngster mistake after mistake.

"Just freeing him up. Freeing him up," Wolff said. "You know, he's a great driver. He has this unbelievable ability and natural talent. He's a race driver. It's all there. But we need to get rid of the ballast.