Wolff was aware of the 'harsh moments' that come with Antonelli’s risky 'combo'
Photo: Race Pictures.
A filmmaker with a soft spot for Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen and above all, Tazio Nuvolari and Ayrton Senna, is also a diehard Formula One fan since the age of 4 (mid-90's). An avid researcher of the past of Grand Prix Racing since before it was even named F1, and with a thirst for knowledge of the ins and outs of the actuality of the sport, as well as for the technical aspects that define it, is a member of GPblog since 2023, where he has put his love of racing to good use.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, since his first ever F1 podium, has hit a slump he can’t seem to get out of. And when he looks primed to do so, something always seems to go wrong. Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff, though, expects this to happen.
Antonelli, since the Austrian Grand Prix where he crashed into Max Verstappen, has been under increasing pressure at Mercedes, with lowly qualifying and Grand Prix results following in Belgium, Hungary and now again at Zandvoort.
‘We took the decision to put an 18-year-old in the car’
When asked if the Italian’s current dip in form has anything to do with the pressure he might be under during his rookie season, Wolff highlighted Antonelli’s age in conversations with media including GPblog.
Toto Wolff has his drivers for '26 ready
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“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, the raw speed that is in him and he copes well.”
Mercedes were aware of the risks that came with signing Antonelli
In the end, coping well, for Wolff, also seems to have something to do with Antonelli’s age, which prevents him from catastrophising any particular incident.
“But that’s also because he’s so young, I guess. He doesn’t see there’s a big catastrophe in beaching the car in FP1 in minute five. So positives and negatives.
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According to the Austrian team principal, Mercedes knew full well the implications of putting someone as young as Antonelli behind the wheel of an F1 car.
“But we were conscious. Rookie and 18-year-old, when we put him in the car in that combo, he certainly gives it some harsh moments,” he concluded.
Now as Formula One heads to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, Antonelli is set to face the tifosi, after crashing out one of their adored Ferrari cars at the Dutch Grand Prix. Wolff also had an opinion on that subject, which you can read here.
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