02/09/2025 10:10
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has explained that affording
Kimi Antonelli "a year of learning" would result in the
rollercoaster campaign the teenager is currently experiencing in
F1. After being thrown into the deep end as the replacement for
seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli set off on the
right foot by scoring solid points in five of his first six races.
Since F1 embarked on its European season, however, the 19-year-old
Italian has endured a wretched run, scoring just one point from
eight races, punctuated only by his superb maiden podium in Canada.
In Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix, Antonelli hit his nadir for the year,
collecting 15 seconds of penalties after crashing into Ferrari's
Charles Leclerc and sending the Monégasque out of the race, and
then speeding in the pit lane in making a stop for fresh tyres
after a safety car was summoned. Asked of Wolff whether Antonelli,
who also crashed out in first practice, needed a reset, the
Austrian knew this year would be one of highs and lows. "At the
beginning of the year, when we made it clear last year in Monza
that we would give him the opportunity, it was also saying that we
would give him a year of learning," said Wolff, speaking to the
media, including RacingNews365 . "That there would be moments where
we tear our hair out, and there would be other moments of
brilliance, and I think the weekend [at Zandvoort] pretty much
summed that up. "The mistake in FP1 is clearly something that puts
you on the back foot for the whole of the weekend. "And then in the
race, [there were] these moments of great driving, moments when he
was in free air, behind the McLaren, the quickest car, caught up
and then he was involved in that accident. "It, unfortunately,
meant the end for Charles' race and also for Kim's race, but we
want him to go for the moves, obviously. "So ups and downs, which I
absolutely expected from him this season, and every one of those
days is going to be a learning [experience] for next year. "We're
not fighting for a constructors' championship. Of course, it's P2
and P3 that are at stake, but this has less relevance than next
year when it's important to score the points."
