Toto Wolff on Kimi Antonelli: "It worked to kick her in the butt"

Pointed out after his ninth place at Monza by Toto wolff, Director of Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli was able to silence the critics on the track. However, let us remember that the Bolognese had started his first season in Formula 1 on a roll, between a fourth place in his first Grand Prix in Melbourne, a podium in Canada and a pole position for the Miami Sprint. In Japan, the Italian also made history as the youngest F1 driver to lead a race.

Antonelli responds to on-track criticism

After a difficult European tour marked by four retirements in races and only one point scored in Hungary, although interrupted by a fine 3rd place in Montreal, Kimi Antonelli found his form on the shores of the Caspian Sea during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Europe certainly didn't help, as there was a lot of attention around him and expectations were very high." recognizes Toto Wolff to Sky Sports F1. Mercedes has also taken the upper hand on the Team After the Azerbaijan GP, ​​the two Silver Arrows drivers proved faster than the red single-seaters.

It should also be noted that while some had questioned Mercedes' decision to bring in a young driver so quickly after several blunders from the rookie, Toto Wolff had never publicly criticized Kimi Antonelli's performances until then. However, a lackluster weekend at Monza earned the Italian a reprimand from the team boss, who described his performance as " disappointing ».

Since then, the Transalpine's results have improved significantly and Wolff notes that " It worked to kick him in the butt." Kimi Antonelli raised the bar, securing two consecutive fourth-place finishes in Azerbaijan and Singapore. From Baku, I think that we have seen a great concentration, underlines Toto Wolff. I feel like he has less outside work, in terms of media and sponsorship obligations, and spends all his time with his engineering team, which is a good thing.. » The Viennese adds further: " that it is also a learning process for Kimi [Antonelli], to know what he reacts well to, and we have always encouraged him, even encouraged him to make mistakes to learn, because this is the last year of these regulations.

A W16 on the rise

While the rookie's progress coincides with Toto Wolff's comments, it's not the only factor. Across the garage, George Russell has also found consistency in his car, with a podium and then a victory in the last two Grands Prix. Antonelli's sometimes inconsistent performances are correlated with the general trend of a Mercedes team, sometimes struggling, but clearly regaining form in recent weeks.

Usually more comfortable in cooler conditions, the W16 demonstrated its increasing versatility at Marina Bay, symbolizing a real leap forward for the team. The Singapore Grand Prix confirmed the German car's improved speed, in which George Russell took victory, helped by his teammate Kimi Antonelli. It was really helpful to have Kimi in such good shape on Friday, "We're not talking about the track," says Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes' director of track engineering. He hasundoubtedly contributed to the victory.

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Narrowly missing out on the podium in the city-state, Kimi Antonelli, ambitious and demanding of himself, did not hide his frustration after the Singapore GP. “To be honest, the pace was really good, I felt very comfortable in the car and I'm just a little disappointed because the potential was higher, he regretted upon arrival. I think with a better Q3 it could have been different, but we will try to do better next time."

It remains to be seen what Kimi Antonelli can offer in the last six rounds of the season with a W16 back in battle order.