How Toto Wolff responded when Martin Brundle asked if he should have loaned out Kimi Antonelli

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Kimi Antonelli arrives at his home Grand Prix on a run of just one points finish in five races. Mercedes are doing their best to reduce the pressure.

Antonelli is in line for a contract extension at Mercedes, along with teammate George Russell. But even though the spectre of losing his seat to Max Verstappen has faded, there appears to be a certain tension in his driving.

He became the third-youngest podium finisher in F1 history at the Canadian GP but since then, he’s suffered four qualifying eliminations (including Sprints) and two retirements. His average position when he does see the chequered flag is 15th.

He could have finished fourth at the Dutch GP last time out had he not picked up a 10-second penalty for colliding with Charles Leclerc, an incident that ended the latter’s race.

This has fuelled suggestions, from Martin Brundle among others, that Antonelli wasn’t ready for a Mercedes seat in his rookie season. Team principal Toto Wolff responded after first practice at Monza.

Toto Wolff insists Kimi Antonelli was the best alternative to Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes hired academy graduate Antonelli after Lewis Hamilton made the unforeseen decision to join Ferrari. Wolff told Sky Sports pundit Brundle that the teenager was the ‘best alternative’.

It was important that he projected total confidence and ‘enthusiasm’ to reassure the team. They were losing a driver who had won them six world championships and a record 84 Grands Prix.

Wolff knew that there would be races where he was left ‘tearing his hair out’. These have been more common than he expected, but he maintains his belief in Antonelli.

“Do you wish you would have put him in another team, like you did George, to learn his trade out of the spotlight?” Brundle asked.

Wolff replied: “I think, first of all, we went into putting Kimi in a Formula 1 car with great enthusiasm. The team also needed that, with Lewis going. For us, it was the best alternative.

“We walked into this with open eyes, saying, ‘There are races where we’re going to tear our hair out’, and others are going to be brilliant. Maybe there were more hair-tearing-out situations, but we are committed.”

Antonelli is the youngest pole-sitter in any F1 format after he topped Sprint qualifying in Miami earlier this year. But his slump puts him at risk of falling behind Williams driver Alex Albon in the championship (they’re now level on points).

Where Mercedes really wanted Kimi Antonelli to race in 2025

As Brundle mentioned, Antonelli’s teammate Russell began his career at Williams. He spent three seasons away from the ‘spotlight’ before succeeding Valtteri Bottas.

According to Italian journalist Roberto Chinchero, who was speaking on the Chequered Flag podcast, Mercedes wanted to repeat that blueprint with Antonelli. Russell was unquestionably ready for the move, as he proved by outscoring Hamilton in his first season.

However, Hamilton’s exit, and the difficulty of finding a driver who would accept a one-year contract, meant Antonelli was fast-tracked.

It was reported last year that Mercedes made an offer to Carlos Sainz, but he wanted a longer-term deal.

“It was a forced decision,” said Chinchero. “The plan was to put Kimi in Williams for a season or two and then to swap into Mercedes.

“Then Lewis left Mercedes, so there was a slot. Mercedes at that point had to decide, ‘Can we find on the market a guy for one year only?’, because the plan was to put Kimi in the car for 2026.

“It was difficult to find someone for one season only. At that point, they decided to put Kimi in.”