Toto Wolff limits Kimi Antonelli’s contact with Italian press after he became the country’s new star

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Toto Wolff has decided to limit Kimi Antonelli’s contact with the Italian press after the teenager became his country’s new superstar. 

Antonelli, 19, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in Formula 1, especially after winning three consecutive races.

On Sunday, it was another statement performance as Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix to extend his lead at the top of the world championship standings.

Heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, Antonelli now has a 20-point buffer between himself and Mercedes teammate George Russell.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Antonelli’s popularity has grown massively since his flying start to the 2026 campaign, something Wolff has now acted on to keep his teenage driver ‘grounded’.

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Toto Wolff limits Kimi Antonelli’s contact with Italian press amid F1 title fight

As reported by Spanish news outlet Marca, Wolff has ‘limited’ Antonelli’s contact with the Italian press, to shield him from the noise coming from Italy. 

Meanwhile, Wolff compared Antonelli to Italian tennis superstar Jannik Sinner, stating that the pair are now Italy’s biggest sports stars due to the failure of the football team. 

The Mercedes team boss also praised Antonelli’s parents for the role they played in keeping Antonelli ‘on the ground’.

As reported by Sky Sports, Wolff said: “The easiest bit is making sure that he keeps both feet on the ground within the team. His parents have done a great job in keeping him grounded.

“The bigger problem is the Italian public. Now that they are not qualifying for football, it is all about Sinner and Antonelli. I think Sinner won in Madrid, so it is the two superstars, and that is something that we need to contain.

“There are so many requests for his time. It’s on us to keep the handbrake on that. We just really need to stay calm here because such success for such a young man at this stage, all of Italy will be on him.

“Sinner and Antonelli, Antonelli and Sinner. We have won three Grands Prix, Sinner is world No 1 and has won many Grand Slams.”

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READ MORE: George Russell’s ‘weird’ radio message after the Miami Grand Prix is a warning to Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli is still searching for consistency after three victories in a row

Despite extending his lead at the top, Antonelli is still looking to perfect his racing, claiming he is still ‘inconsistent’ after locking up and running wide at Turn 1 during the opening lap in Miami.

As per F1, Antonelli said: “I’m still a little bit inconsistent, especially on clutch drop.

“I still don’t have that confidence, being consistent with that. I still have a bit of uncertainty, so it’s a big point that needs to be improved.

“But I think today I managed it better than yesterday. Yesterday I was very frustrated and today I just kept it a bit cool, a bit better, and just managed to move on and focus about the race.”