Toto Wolff makes early prediction for Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes debut in Australia

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Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes debut will be one of the many fascinating storylines when the 2025 Formula 1 season begins at the Australian Grand Prix. The team announced at the end of August that he’d become the third-youngest driver in the sport’s history.

Much of the attention will be on Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari following perhaps the biggest transfer in F1 history. That could help Antonelli, but he will still face the unique pressure of succeeding the sport’s most successful driver.

Antonelli graduates to F1 on the back of a single season in Formula 2. With two rounds remaining, he sits sixth in the championship, more than 50 points behind leader Gabriel Bortoleto.

One may expect him to rank higher in the standings given that he’s been signed by a top Formula 1 team, but his PREMA squad have had a difficult year. Indeed, Haas-bound teammate Oliver Bearman is down in 15th, though he has missed two rounds due to F1 call-ups.

Antonelli made his FP1 debut for the team at Monza, just 24 hours before the team announced his arrival. While he briefly showed impressive pace, he was guilty of pushing too hard and crashed out early on.

Mercedes have scheduled another appearance for the Italian in Mexico later this month. Most of his F1 running, though, has come in a private testing programme in the 2022 machinery.

Toto Wolff not expecting Kimi Antonelli to ‘blast’ the field on his Formula 1 debut

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff outlined his early expectations for Antonelli. He certainly doesn’t anticipate the 18-year-old blowing the F1 paddock away with his showing on debut.

Instead, he called for Antonelli to be given time by the media. He has no doubts about his capabilities, but expects him to develop gradually.

Oscar Piastri inspired Wolff to sign Antonelli, and so he may be the model. It took around 18 months before the Australian could consistently match McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

“We need to give him the time to develop,” Wolff said. “We don’t expect, touching down in Australia, and him blasting everyone. That’s not the expectation.

“I think it shouldn’t be anybody’s expectations. Give him time to develop, and then he can become very good. But he needs to be given the time.”

What Kimi Antonelli did during his first Mercedes test that left engineers really excited

According to Alex Jacques, Bearman faces an ‘easier’ debut than Antonelli. Racing for Haas, he has a ‘lower bar to clear’ and faces less media attention.

But it’s also true that the British driver would likely trade places with Antonelli in an instant. He’ll potentially have a car good enough to win races as a rookie, something that hasn’t been achieved since Hamilton at McLaren in 2007.

Mercedes know how good their new signing is after his performances in private tests. Antonelli delighted engineers with his feedback, as well as his lap times, during his first outing in the 2021 car in Austria.

He’ll need to feel confident in the cockpit before he can start unleashing his speed next year. That may take a few races, even half a season, but he certainly has a patient team boss on his side.