11/05/2025 12:55
Toto Wolff has been told Kimi Antonelli is his "cure" for failing
to sign Max Verstappen as a teenager back in 2014. Italian protégé
Antonelli was promoted to a race seat for 2025 at Mercedes,
replacing Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton and has impressed thus far
with 48 points from six races. Antonelli also bagged Sprint pole in
Miami, and took Verstappen's all-time records for youngest driver
to lead a lap and youngest to set a fastest lap, both at the
Japanese GP, just his third race at the time. As Mercedes show an
upturn in form, former IndyCar racer Hinchcliffe believes Antonelli
has been a shining light for Mercedes, and helped soothe the
regrets Wolff had about missing out on Verstappen as a 16-year-old
in 2014 to Red Bull. "I had the benefit of coming into the series
with a smaller team and lower expectations," Hinchcliffe wrote on
F1's official website. "For Antonelli, that is certainly not the
case. He was being touted as the next Verstappen and was replacing
Hamilton. Expectations couldn't have been higher. Lesser drivers
would have crumbled. "But Antonelli has taken it all in stride, not
letting either the good days or bad affect him and his approach in
a meaningful way, while maintaining his youthful exuberance and
eagerness to improve. 'He is clearly a hard worker too, and is not
letting the thought of being Toto Wolff's cure to missing out on
signing Max Verstappen all those years ago distract him from doing
what he does best." Pinpointing one area he felt Antonelli could
improve, Hinchcliffe pointed to his qualifying deficit to Russell,
which across the six grand prix sessions and two Sprints combined
stands at 0.291s on average, with Russell leading 6-2 after
Antonelli out-qualified him for the first time in the two Miami
sessions. "This is a short list for a driver with a half dozen
races under his belt,' he added. "The qualifying deficit to Russell
needs to continue to come down, and he is showing every sign that
that trend will continue."
