Toto Wolff has expressed his admiration for Kimi Antonelli’s debut season. The Italian was promoted to the premier class at the age of 18, a move that raised eyebrows among experts. They questioned whether the young talent was ready to succeed Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. Antonelli had a few challenging races during the European season, but ended the year consistently with strong performances and several podium finishes. Wolff jokingly admitted he couldn’t have done the same.
In the Beyond the Grid podcast, Toto Wolff praised Kimi Antonelli’s skills and emphasized that the Italian teenager already shows a lot of maturity. “When we talk to Kimi, we are honest, both in good times and in bad,” he explained. “But sometimes you have to remember that you’re not dealing with an adult. In the end, he’s more of a child than an adult, and then you have to realize that he’s only nineteen. Yes, he’s a professional in the car and has been karting and racing his whole life. But in terms of maturity, we expect a growth that is almost impossible. In that respect, we really threw him in at the deep end.”
Potential
According to Wolff, the pressure of the European season began to take its toll. “Looking back at some of his races, you can see that it has sometimes been overwhelming,” said the team boss. “The experiences, the attention, the media. On top of that, he has an extremely fast teammate with a lot of experience. But he was still able to handle it,” Wolff praised Antonelli’s mental resilience. “This shows that he still has a lot of potential for the future.”
Wolff himself admitted, with a laugh, that he could never have done what Antonelli does at the age of 19. “When I was 19, I was quite an idiot,” he joked. “I wouldn’t have been able to handle the pressure he is dealing with now. That’s why I am sometimes stricter when I talk to him. At the same time, I occasionally need to reset and think: ‘Wait a minute, he’s still just a kid.’ That has been a valuable lesson for us as well.”
