Kimi Antonelli’s erratic Dutch Grand Prix has not thwarted his support from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
The 19-year-old, who scored just a single point in the four races before the summer break, stretched that run with two separate incidents during Sunday’s race.
Having already lost time, after an off-moment in FP1, the Italian was narrowly knocked out of Q2, before a promising comeback drive was on the cards.
However, on lap 53, he collided with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and then sped in the pit lane (by less than half a kilometre per hour), when he came in for repairs. The cost of these two errors: a 15-second time penalty.
And with a late-race safety car, this prevented him from opening a gap to those fighting for points. Therefore, he was classified in P16.
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has made no secret of his ambitions to sign world champion Max Verstappen for the future, continued to give Antonelli his support, citing the fickle reality of being a rookie.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: “When we made it clear last year in Monza that we would give him the opportunity, it was also saying that we would give him a year of learning.
“The mistake in FP1, clearly something that puts you on the back foot for the rest of the weekend, and then in the race, these moments of great driving.
“Once he was in free air he was, behind the McLaren, the quickest car; caught up and then again was involved in the accident that unfortunately meant the end of Charles’ [Leclerc] race.
Leclerc and Antonelli's dramatic coming together 💥
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2025
The Mercedes driver has been handed a 10-second penalty for causing a collision #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/lxcCc4o1WO
“But we want him to go for the moves, obviously. So up and downs, and that was absolutely expected from this season and every one of those days is going to be a learning for next year.”
And of the Italian’s potential, Wolff added: “It’s there and we have no doubt.”
The most important backing
Wolff’s measured words about Antonelli obviously needs to be supportive, because for a team that has aspirations to become world champions, you need to have a pair of performing drivers.
But for what has been a rotten run, Antonelli needs the support of his team more than ever. He is not under threat of being dropped for 2026, as the Austrian announced the near certainty of the team retaining the same drivers for next year.
And that is to be expected, Wolff placed a lot of responsibility on the teenager, to replace the constructors’ most successful driver, and one of the sport’s greatest in Lewis Hamilton.
And despite the rotten run of scoring just a point since his breakthrough podium, at the Canadian Grand Prix, it is important to note that not every rookie will consistently dazzle like Max Verstappen, or Lewis Hamilton, in their debut season.
What is important is to understand the raw speed, and the peaks, and there are evidence of them. Finishing on the podium, having passed the championship leader on the first lap, in Canada; the sprint pole at Miami, a track that he drove for the first time earlier that day.
Only a talented driver can do that in their first season, but the tricky next step is to make that more consistent. The Italian has nine races (and three additional sprints) to build that bank of knowledge up, before a fresh new start with the 2026 regulations.
Worries about whether he was rushed into the seat need to take time, because he is being afforded it, and if the Silver Arrows were that alarmed by his level, they would have been more open about their doubts.
But make no mistake, he will eventually be expected to ride the peaks more than the troughs.
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