Toto Wolff observes how his criticism of driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli after Monza motivated the rookie to improve in Baku and Singapore. And with success, as the young Italian was able to score valuable points in the last two races for the Silver Arrows in their battle with Ferrari for second place in the constructors’ championship. ‘It certainly woke him up,’ concludes Wolff.
With a fourth place in Baku and a fifth place in Singapore, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was able to score valuable points for Mercedes twice in a row. The rookie put in two good performances after team boss Toto Wolff had labeled his driver’s race in Monza as ‘disappointing’. The young Italian received criticism from the Austrian after he ended up in the gravel with his W16 during FP2.
Toto Wolff is pleased with the changed approach of Kimi Antonelli during the last two races. “Since Baku, I see much more focus from him,” the Mercedes team boss tells Formula1.com. “The European part of the season didn’t help him, but there was also so much attention on him and the expectations were sky-high. He now has less off-track work – such as media and sponsor tasks – so he now spends all his time with his engineering team. That’s good.”
The Austrian was then asked if Kimi Antonelli responded well to Wolff’s criticism after Monza. “It’s still a learning process with Kimi, where he does and doesn’t respond well. We always support him. We even encourage him to make mistakes, as this is the last year of the current regulations.” According to Wolff, the criticism motivated Antonelli to perform better in Baku and Singapore. “It woke him up.”
Russell and Verstappen
Whether the rookie is also championship material in the future, and can also reach the level of teammate George Russell, Wolff still has doubts about that. “That’s such a high level,” the team boss immediately compliments Russell. “When you look at George and Max Verstappen, you see that their skills are at such a high level. And there are only a few who have that level. To get close to that is already a success.”
