Toto Wolff backs Kimi Antonelli ahead of home race at the Italian GP - It's ‘just part of learning’
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli following a challenging Dutch Grand Prix weekend, just before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the young Italian's home race.
In this article, Sports News Blitz deputy content editor Nicole Powell breaks down Wolff’s comments ahead of this weekend’s Italian GP.
A rookie roller-coaster in Zandvoort
Back on track after the summer break at Zandvoort, Antonelli’s final 10 rounds of the season promised a fresh start, only for it to quickly turn tumultuous.
He ran off in first practice and then, on race day, attempted a daring move on Charles Leclerc for P5.
The move backfired, leaving Leclerc spun into the barriers and resulting in a 10-second time penalty that dropped Antonelli to 16th place.
Wolff addressed the media, saying:
“When we made it clear last year in Monza that we would give him the opportunity, we were also saying that we would give him a year of learning, and there would be moments where we’d tear our hair out, and there would be other moments of brilliance.
“So, up and downs, and that was absolutely expected from this season. And every one of those days is going to be a learning for next year.”
He added, in a tone both candid and supportive:
“Kimi, 18 years old, thrown in this mammoth of a team, representing Mercedes, he’s going to make mistakes. Hopefully less mistakes next year and scoring bigger points. But my 100% belief is in him in the long term, and that is just part of the learning.”
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A driver with raw speed - and a future
Wolff underscored that mistakes are expected for a driver so young, so new - and so talented:
“We want to have a driver that has speed, that is fast, that learns, that scores the points, but all the big ones [drivers] make mistakes.”
He drew a parallel to a similar rookie journey:
“It’s difficult to compare now because Max [Verstappen] was given a different environment in Toro Rosso at the beginning, but there were also some moments where you said, ‘That was a big mistake.’”
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From pressure to potential: The home race ahead
With Monza looming - the so-called “Temple of Speed” - the spotlight intensifies for Antonelli as Italy’s lone F1 representative. Wolff acknowledged the pressure but framed it positively:
“Well, I was thinking in the race, what would it have been if Kimi would have overtaken a Ferrari? I think the people in Italy would have been happy. Italian fans want an Italian driver that is fighting, that pushes the car to the limit and sometimes over the limit.
“The Italian fans don’t want to have a hesitating driver, “I think the people in Italy would have been happy. Italian fans want an Italian driver that is fighting, that pushes the car to the limit and sometimes over the limit.”
He tempered the sentiment with reality:
“Obviously, from the team’s perspective, we don’t want to take a Ferrari out. Certainly not. I’m sure that Kimi doesn’t want to take a Ferrari out particularly. But it is what it is. It’s hard racing.”
As Mercedes aren’t battling for this year’s Constructors' Championship, and are rather positioning between P2 and P3, the focus is crystal clear: develop Antonelli into a stronger, more consistent performer next season.
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