Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff singled out teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli for his standout qualifying performance at the Miami Grand Prix, highlighting the Italian’s one-lap speed as a sign of his immense potential in Formula 1.
Antonelli stunned the paddock by taking Sprint pole on Friday – becoming the youngest polesitter in any F1 format – before securing third on the grid for the Grand Prix itself.
Though he faded during the race, mostly due to circumstances and a lack of experience, Wolff was full of praise for the 18-year-old’s raw pace and rapid learning curve.
“I think the high point definitely was seeing his [Antonelli's] speed on a single lap, great,” Wolff said. “You know that's another proof of his talent and a good indication to how the future can be.”
Race day proved more challenging for the rookie, particularly on the hard tyres, but Wolff viewed the experience as an important step in Antonelli’s development.
“And then in the race, challenging because [it is] so difficult here to find the right reference. You can say, 'was the medium stint quick enough?'
"You know, with George holding on in the back on the hard tyre - that was not good. Then when he went on to the hard, he just lacks experience managing it the right way.
“And then finding the right references, and Bono [Race Engineer Pete Bonnington] really tried to guide him, but when you're in that car, it's not easy. And I think it's just part of the learning curve.
“It's nothing that is disappointing or not. Overall, I go away with the feeling that he's done a good job.”
Wolff: Tyre Degradation Still an Issue
While Antonelli and teammate George Russell both showed promise over short runs, Wolff was candid about Mercedes’ main shortfall: tyre degradation.
Russell managed to finish on the podium, but he was over half a minute behind the dominant McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
“It is simply that we have a really fast car, I believe on a single lap or on a few laps, [it is] absolutely where it can be, but we're just not good with the tyres over an extended run and McLaren shows how it's being done to a degree," Wolff explained.
“I think that Red Bull, with Max, they're managing it better, but also tricky performances and I would say we are solid in what we're doing but [McLaren] are definitely doing an excellent job, by being able to go fast around the corners without overheating them.
"So, this is what we need to look up to and engineer our way out of the topic.”
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Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes' raw pace is sufficient in qualifying trim, but admitted that race consistency remains the gap to close.
“You put everything down [in Qualifying], what is the car capable of generating in terms of downforce and we are right in the ballgame,” he said.
“But at the end the points are being given for a race and a race means also being able to maintain that pace over a long time, over many laps and we are not capable of doing that.
“We just need to be better, we just need to understand, we need to find out where do we need to focus our attention in terms of development, what are the main performance contributors and we are on it, completely on it.
“We are trying to find out, we are experimenting and we are going to definitely be able to challenge [McLaren].”
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