Toto Wolff makes admission about Kimi Antonelli amid Mercedes struggles

Toto Wolff has pointed to Mercedes’ inconsistent W16 as one of the key reasons 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli has struggled to adapt.

However, Wolff sees this as part of Antonelli’s ongoing evolution into eventual World Championship form.

Toto Wolff: Brilliant Kimi Antonelli held back by Mercedes challenges

Coming into the F1 2025 season, Mercedes team introduced a major change. Lewis Hamilton left the outfit after over a decade to move to Scuderia Ferrari, leaving George Russell as its most experienced driver.

For the second seat, Toto Wolff promoted Mercedes junior, Kimi Antonelli, who’d joined the programme in 2019.

The teenage Italian racer rose quickly through the karting ranks before moving on to the junior formulae. He was his first title in the 2022 Italian F4 Championship, and the 2022 ADAC Formula 4 title, followed by the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship and the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East.

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Wolff hailed Antonelli as something of a prodigy, perhaps even being the next Max Verstappen. Of the six full-time rookies in the F1 2025 field, the Italian remains the most successful.

However, that hasn’t come without its frustrations. Antonelli lies seventh in the World Drivers’ Championship after a difficult streak of points-less finishes and retirements starting in Imola and ending in Belgium — though the Canadian Grand Prix was a standout for the team, as Russell won the race and Antonelli took his first Grand Prix podium.

While the teenager has impressed, Wolff has been questioned over whether he promoted the youngster too soon, with many critics pointing at Antonelli’s recent downturn in performance as an illustration. Wolff disagrees.

Speaking to Gazetta dello Sport, he claimed that “Kimi is a huge talent: he’s fast, he’s intelligent.

“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,” Wolff continued.

“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 seems to have stemmed from a suspension upgrade introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. From that point, the W16 proved challenging to drive. After the team reverted to a set-up from earlier in the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, many of those initial issues seemed to take care of themselves.

Antonelli’s downturn in performance preceded the upgrades by two races. His first retirement of 2025 came at his home race in Imola, where the Italian driver admitted to being caught out by the added pressure and responsibilities of his home race.

From there, it was off to the challenging Monaco Grand Prix, where he finished 18th.

It has been a frustrating period for the youngster, who admitted to media, including PlanetF1.com, that “I feel like I have no confidence on pushing” ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

It’s a challenging situation, but, as Wolff continued, Mercedes has no intention of holding this against Antonelli.

“I think it’s a learning experience for all of us,” he insisted.

“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.”