Toto Wolff isn’t sugar‑coating Mercedes’ role in Kimi Antonelli’s choppy rookie campaign. The team boss says the W16’s mood swings have made life harder for the 18‑year‑old, even as he doubles down on the Italian’s trajectory toward title‑contender status.
Mercedes entered 2025 with a hard reset: Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, George Russell as the elder statesman, and Antonelli—promoted from the junior ranks he’s torn through since 2019—thrown into a top seat before his 19th birthday. The résumé is undeniable: titles in Italian F4 and ADAC F4 in 2022, then the Formula Regional Middle East and European crowns in 2023. Of the six full‑season rookies this year, Antonelli remains the standout.
But it hasn’t been a clean line upward. Antonelli sits seventh in the standings after a bruising run from Imola to Belgium—retirements, no scores, and a confidence dip he admitted openly before Spa. The exception was Montreal, where Russell won and Antonelli grabbed his first F1 podium, an important exhale for both sides of the garage.
Wolff, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, batted away the “too soon” narrative. “Kimi is a huge talent: he’s fast, he’s intelligent,” he said. “I said it right from the start: he’ll make mistakes, we know that, and we wouldn’t have taken him on if we weren’t aware of that. Unfortunately, we have an inconsistent car, which makes it more difficult for him to adapt. But going through these difficulties is also part of the process of becoming a champion.”
That inconsistency, by Mercedes’ own admission, traces back to a suspension update rolled out in Barcelona. From there, the W16 became prickly—good one weekend, vague the next. The team later reverted to earlier setups at the Hungaroring, which soothed some of the handling gremlins. Worth noting: Antonelli’s slide began two rounds before those upgrades, with his first DNF coming under the glare of his home race at Imola, followed by an anonymous 18th in Monaco.
For a teenager learning F1 with the volume at maximum, this is the grind. “I feel like I have no confidence on pushing,” Antonelli said ahead of Belgium—a rare bit of candor in a paddock that usually hides it.
Wolff’s response suggests long‑term thinking. “It’s a learning experience for all of us,” he added. “We’ve never had such a young driver on the team, and in general, F1 has never had an 18‑year‑old in a top team. We’re all trying to work together, including his family, to create an environment that will allow Kimi to give his best on the track.”
Mercedes wanted the future now. The price is patience.
