Toto Wolff has acknowledged that Kimi Antonelli's rookie season in Formula 1 in 2025 will come under much greater scrutiny than George Russell’s debut, as the teenager’s mistakes will be “more visible” due to starting his career with Mercedes rather than a midfield team.
While Russell had the luxury of making his early F1 errors out of the spotlight with Williams, Antonelli will face the pressure of driving for a top team from day one.
Antonelli made his official F1 debut last weekend at Monza in Friday’s opening practice. It was but a brief run however for the young Italian who crashed just 10 minutes into the session.
Despite the incident, Mercedes confirmed on Saturday that the young driver would partner Russell at the Brackley squad in 2025.
Both drivers came up through Mercedes’ driver development programme, though their paths to the team differ in key ways.
“I think most of the credit needs to go to Gwen [Lagrue], who manages our academy, and his team, because they’re able to scout from the very early age onwards,” Wolff explained.
“We as Mercedes wouldn’t have found Kimi – he was 11 years old, we saw the results on track and obviously working with the kart teams. It’s amazing to see, as with George, [who] actually found us, put his best suit on and went to see me in my office with a PowerPoint presentation.
“It was Gwen who found Kimi, so it’s good that we are now here in 2024 with two Mercedes juniors that we were able to support from the very early stages of their career.”
However, the key difference between Antonelli and Russell’s paths lies in the level of visibility.
When Russell joined Williams, the team was struggling at the back of the grid, allowing him to make mistakes with less attention from the media and fans.
“Obviously maybe we’ve learned the lesson, George was maybe too long at Williams,” said Wolff. “He did some of the mistakes at Williams where he was not so visible.
“Now we’ve fast-tracked Kimi, mistakes are going to be more visible because it’s in a Mercedes.”
Despite the high stakes, Wolff is confident in Antonelli’s potential and the team's investment in his future.
“We’re absolutely ready for that investment, and having these two guys – full Mercedes juniors now in Formula 1 – is really great to see.
“It’s testament to the work of the junior team, looking at the minis today, the under-10s that are racing in karting.”
Russell also expressed his support for the young driver, but the Briton, a two-time race winner in F1, acknowledged that Antonelli’s youth and inexperience mean he’ll face a steep learning curve, but he’s confident in the young gun’s raw speed.
“When I look back to when I was 18 years old, there’s obviously so much to learn,” Russell remarked.
“But I think, as a driver, you have the speed or you don’t have the speed, and I’m very confident Kimi has the speed.”
Russell, who made his own mistakes during his time at Williams, emphasized that errors are a natural part of any driver’s growth.
“I think everybody on their journey is going to make mistakes, and that’s part of life and part of this sport. I’ve no doubt Kimi’s going to learn from [his FP1 at Monza],” he added.
“He’s definitely got the speed to help Mercedes get back to the front of the grid for next year onwards, and that’s exactly why he’s going to be in the car alongside me next year.”
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