Toto Wolff surprised by Kimi Antonelli's 2026 progress: He’s "No longer a deer in the headlights"
When Toto Wolff held his annual media session with the Dutch press at Zandvoort a year ago, Kimi Antonelli was in the middle of the struggles that characterised the European part of his season. The then-rookie showed some moments of brilliance in Miami and Canada, but those were interspersed with difficult race weekends during his Formula 1 debut. At the time, Wolff often summed it up as ... Keep…
At Toto Wolff's recent media session with Dutch press at Zandvoort, a year ago, rookie Kimi Antonelli was still facing significant struggles. This season, however, Antonelli has demonstrated a remarkable transformation. The young Italian has consistently finished on the podium in every race, excluding Barcelona and Silverstone, and now holds a 59-point championship lead over his team-mate George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
This extraordinary progress has left Wolff surprised, as many in the sport anticipated a similar trajectory for the 2026 season. According to Wolff, the rookie's exceptional performance stems from a combination of his technical skills and mental fortitude. "When I analyse it and ask myself what are the reasons that he had such a good reputation in the junior formulas and karting, I think it's his processing power," Wolff explained.
"He just needed the winter to process it." Additionally, Wolff attributes Antonelli's rapid development to the stability within the team and the familiarity he has with the environment. The change in regulations and Antonelli's previous inexperience were cited as contributing factors to his struggles in 2025. However, the Mercedes boss acknowledges that these challenges were predicted and that he and others, such as Helmut Marko at Red Bull, took a risk by supporting the young driver.
Despite occasional setbacks, like the challenging Spa race, Wolff remains confident in Antonelli's potential, which he attributes to his enthusiasm and focus on performance.
Written by urgent.news from Motorsport.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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