The Kimi Antonelli surprise
Raise your hand if, at the beginning of the season, you would have bet even just one euro on the fact that Andrea Kimi Antonelli – who certainly had shown something interesting in his debut World Championship, but also encountered quite a few difficulties – would have closed the initial triple header of races at the top of the general standings. If there’s one person who, at the very least, would have bet more than one euro, it’s undoubtedly Toto Wolff: the Mercedes team principal, in fact, experienced the choice to replace a legend of Lewis Hamilton’s caliber with a debutant just over 18 years old as a personal challenge. It is inevitable, therefore, that the Austrian manager is now enjoying the bet he has won so far.
Read more Patrese: “Sainz could go to Red Bull, but its not certain that it would be better than Williams”
Toto Wolff speaks
Wolff spoke about it during a press videoconference organized in recent days, praising Antonelli’s attitude, but also trying – as he has done since the day of the official announcement – to lower the level of expectations and pressure, given that some are already comparing him (even for a trivially aesthetic reason) to the three-time F1 world champion, Ayrton Senna: “As for Kimi, we have always been very clear about our goals, about the fact that we expected a first year of apprenticeship, characterized by excellent performances and positive moments, but also by others of difficulty. And that is exactly what we have seen. Now we are in the second year and he continues to grow exactly as we hoped and predicted”.
Read more Volkswagen further reduces production
“Naturally, in Italy everyone wants to talk about world championships – adds Toto Wolff, speaking of his protégé, quoted by the Reuters news agency – and comparisons with Ayrton Senna come up. This is not something I like to read, because we must not forget that he is 19 years old. In any case, he handles the pressure very well. he said. In the team there are times when we support him, while at other times, we also exert a little more pressure on Kimi Antonelli. But overall, everything is going as planned”.
Read more Sainz in ‘withdrawal’ from F1: today he was on track at Silverstone with the 2025 Williams
