Toto Wolff warns Mercedes shareholders over Kimi Antonelli debut
Toto Wolff issued a warning to Mercedes' stakeholders amidst heavy expectations being laden on debutant Kimi Antonelli.
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Kimi Antonelli and Toto Wolff (via Planetf1)
Mercedes decided to lock in with the prodigy Kimi Antonelli for the 2025 season following Lewis Hamilton‘s exit. Brackley has a lot of hopes for the 18-year-old and is expecting him to perform well from the get-go. Team Principal Toto Wolff who decided to ‘minimze expectations’ from the Italian, put forth a warning to the team’s shareholders following Antonelli’s debut.
Kimi Antonelli‘s first session with Mercedes ended disappointingly with him crashing the chassis after a few laps. As a result, Toto Wolff is set to minimize expectations from Antonelli’s performances as he debuts in Formula 1. Wolff highlighted that expecting the 18-year-old to score pole position in his very first race in Australia would be impossible.
If you expect him to be on pole position in Melbourne, win the race and immediately compete for the championship, then the risk is high because that won’t happen.
Toto Wolff told Auto Moto und Sport
Regardless of Antonelli’s results being impressive during testing sessions, Wolff is expecting the bare minimum from the former. The 53-year-old also ‘warned’ the stakeholders to not believe the test results to translate into race easily. Hence, the 18-year-old will have a chance at deeming a great start and surpassing everyone’s expectations with ease.
By warning all our shareholders not to believe that the good test results will simply translate into the race.
Toto Wolff added
Kimi Antonelli’s 2025 season will be a ‘transition year’ to prepare him for 2026
Kimi Antonelli will be paired up with ‘lead’ George Russell at Mercedes and has the difficult task of surpassing the latter. Moreover, the 2025 season was rumored to be run as a ‘shootout’ between the two drivers to ultimately make way for Max Verstappen. Moreover, the 18-year-old, despite being talented will need to make mistakes and learn from them. Hence, Toto Wolff highlighted that the team saw the 2025 season as a ‘transition year’ for Antonelli to prepare for the 2026 season.
If we take the approach that the boy is 18 years old, very talented, but of course has to grow into it first and will make mistakes, then the risk is limited. That’s why we’re doing it. We see 2025 as a transition year and want to prepare him for 2026.
Toto Wolff noted
Mercedes will have to prepare for the upcoming season in the absence of Lewis Hamilton for the first time in over 12 years. Hence, Brackley’s development throughout the season would also be uncertain as the team will be run by two relatively inexperienced drivers. Regardless, the German carmaker will aim to deem an impressive start to the season alongside Russell and Antonelli.
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Aditya Pandya
(1460 Articles Published)