Toto Wolff might have to speak to Kimi Antonelli over ‘attack’ comments before Mercedes debut

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Kimi Antonelli crashed around 10 minutes into his first Formula 1 session at the Italian Grand Prix last year. It was supposed to be a celebratory occasion.

Mercedes had already chosen Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement for 2025, and they gave him the chance to drive their W15 in front of his home fans. But George Russell’s car ended up in the barriers at Parabolica.

Perhaps it was an ill-judged move from Toto Wolff. Antonelli already faced the pressure of replacing the sport’s most successful driver – and perhaps he felt an immediate need to impress his home fans.

Martin Brundle called Antonelli the ‘luckiest driver ever’ because Mercedes were so lenient. Wolff even assured him it was ‘all good’ over the radio.

Speaking to Karun Chandhok at the following race in Azerbaijan, Wolff said Antonelli would have to be more cautious in future. He needed to learn the difference ‘between Q3 and FP1’.

Ever since then, Wolff has been downplaying expectations for Antonelli. He’s called 2025 a ‘transition year’ after his ascent from Formula 2.

Kimi Antonelli may have the wrong attitude for Mercedes F1 bow

Speaking to sport.de this week, Antonelli vowed to ‘attack fully’ from the start and pursue victories. Mercedes won four races last year, but Russell and Hamilton are of course far more experienced.

It’s hard to predict where the Silver Arrows will slot into the 2025 pecking order. On their best days, they had a dominant package, but on their worst, they were an upper-midfield outfit.

Still, Antonelli’s aggressive mindset may have been behind his Monza shunt. It’s extremely unusual for a driver to push as hard as he did so early in an FP1 session.

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Antonelli also crashed in a private TPC run, according to James Allen. If he doesn’t take a more cautious approach this season, there could be more accidents on the horizon.

“I’ll attack fully from the start, my mindset is to go out on the track and drive for victories,” Antonelli said.

“It’s not easy, of course, I’m racing against the best of the best. It takes hard work. So of course I’ll try to learn as much as possible from the start. But I’ll attack and push straight away without fear and see what happens.”

Toto Wolff has asked Kimi Antonelli to do one special thing before 2025 season

Wolff is clearly willing to accept mistakes from Antonelli. He’s about to become the third-youngest driver in F1 history and there’s an acceptance that he’s skipped the intermediate step in the midfield.

But in the cost-cap era, they can’t afford too much damage. Indeed, Mercedes had to curb their developments in late 2024 after a few incidents involving Russell.

That’s even before one considers the impact on Antonelli’s confidence. Given the calibre of drivers he’s going up against, he would be best served by patience – even if that’s alien to most racers.

Off the track, the team boss has already developed a close bond with his new signing. Wolff has asked Antonelli to mentor his children on the kart track, having signed the Italian at the age of 11.