Toto Wolff has compared Kimi Antonelli to the greats of Formula One after the Mercedes driver’s remarkable victory at the Italian Grand Prix where he came back to take the flag from 19th place on the grid.
The Mercedes team principal cited the win as similar to some of the best made by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and said that Antonelli would likely remember the race as one of the greatest of his career.
Antonelli, 20 years old and in only his second season in the sport, delivered an exceptional drive to take victory in Monza, fighting his way through the field and ultimately beating his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, who had started in second on the grid, into runner-up spot.
Wolff, who had been insistent that bringing Antonelli into the team last season was the right decision despite questions being raised over his youth and relative inexperience, felt Antonelli had definitively proved himself.
“We’ve seen it with other great ones in the past – Lewis, who did it at some of the races – that’s what he’s shown,” said Wolff. “There’s just no stopping when a driver and a car are one, there’s nothing that can stop them. ”
Antonelli now leads the world championship by 66 points from Russell and 76 from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton with 10 meetings remaining and is in an enormously commanding position after what had been an inauspicious opening to his F1 career.
In 2024 he made his debut for Mercedes in first free practice at Monza and was left enormously disappointed when he crashed out at the Parabolica corner, leaving some questioning his credentials. His win on Sunday Wolff felt, had finally put the incident to bed.
“This is one that I will remember. It’s how the circle closed,” he said. “Two years ago in first practice it was probably the toughest moment in his career for himself and his family. A moment where everyone doubted, including himself.
“Then two years later, it’s the biggest glory, the biggest moment of his career that’s probably going to be one of his biggest moments overall in the future. Even if he wins another 200 grands prix, that one will always remain special.”
Antonelli endured a difficult first season in F1 last year as he learned the ropes but has come on with extraordinary alacrity. He now has seven wins this season, including a run of five in a row, is in a strong position to close out the championship and Wolff compared his ability to learn and improve to that of advanced artificial intelligence.
“He came out after the winter out of the blocks in a way that no one saw coming,” Wolff said. “The ability, how he processed last year. He’s been at all the races, he’s seen the pressure of the media, the attention that he gets. It’s in a way that the system has been processed and saved.
“That’s why the results that we’ve seen afterwards. But it is still surprising and amazing to see how quickly he develops. For me it’s like an AI agent that continuously self-improves and learns.”
Russell, the more experienced driver at Mercedes, has a huge task ahead and admitted his teammate was all but gone.
“It is definitely Kimi who is in control of it and he is deserving to be in control, I am not even thinking about a fight or a comeback,” he said. “It is going to be exceptionally challenging to overcome that gap. I am sort of accepting that is what it is and I am going to try and enjoy it from here on in and win as many races as possible.”
