Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli endured a Dutch Grand Prix to forget – and Sky F1 pundit Jacques Villeneuve wasted no time questioning whether the Italian teenager belongs in Formula 1 at all.
But team boss Toto Wolff struck back, insisting Antonelli’s daring approach is exactly what Mercedes’ wants to see from the young Italian.
Antonelli’s race unraveled when he lunged into Charles Leclerc at Zandvoort’s banked Turn3, spinning the Ferrari into the barriers and ending the Monegasque’s race. Stewards handed the Mercedes charger a 10-second penalty. Moments later, he compounded his misery with a pitlane speeding infraction, earning another five seconds.
Villeneuve: “Maybe F1 is just too much for him”
Villeneuve, never one to sugarcoat his views, was scathing in his judgement of Antonelli’s over-optimistic move on Leclerc.
“Very poor. A move that you might see in Formula 4, Formula 3, from a driver who doesn't have experience and just not calculated the way it should be,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“When you're in F1, you'll make mistakes, you drive too hard, you're on the limit, but that was not even that. It was just badly calculated. He shouldn't have done that. And then he got all riled up and [exceeded the] speed limit as well. Maybe F1 is just too much for him.”
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When it was put to him that Antonelli was still a teenager, Villeneuve snapped back:
“No, he's in Formula 1! What age was Max when he arrived in F1? What age was Lewis when he arrived? Exactly. So that's not a good excuse.”
The 1997 world champion went further, ridiculing again Antonelli’s ill-fated dive on Leclerc.
“Look how far behind he was before the corner. He was two car lengths behind. On which planet did he think it would stick, that it would work out? Everyone knows that when you go down to the inside like this, that track doesn't work.
“So you really need to be next to the other driver, like Max. He was right up the gear on the outside and barely made it stick.
“So it was just poor, poor calculation from his spot. And he should be better than that in F1.
Wolff: “We want him to go for the moves”
Wolff, who championed Antonelli’s step up to F1, admitted the rookie’s weekend was messy but said such rollercoaster moments were all part of the plan.
“At the beginning of the year, when we made it clear last year in Monza that we would give him the opportunity, he was also saying that we would give him a year of learning,” the Austrian explained.
“There would be moments where we’d tear our hair out and there would be other moments of brilliance. I think this weekend pretty much sums that up.
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“The mistake in FP1, clearly something that puts him on the back foot for all of the weekend. 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 that accident that unfortunately meant the end for Charles’ race and also for Kimi’s race.
“But we want him to go for the moves, obviously. Ups and downs, I was absolutely expected from this season. Every one of those days is going to be a learning for next year.”
Tifosi’s Taste for Boldness
With the Italian Grand Prix at Monza looming, Wolff spun Antonelli’s aggressive style as a potential crowd-pleaser for Ferrari’s passionate fans.
“You know, I was thinking in the race, what would it have been if Kimi would have overtaken a Ferrari?” he mused.
“I think the people in Italy would have been happy. And Italian fans want an Italian driver that is fighting, that pushes the car to the limit and sometimes over the limit. And that’s what happened today.
“Italian fans don’t want to have a hesitating driver, [they want] someone that goes.”
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Still, Wolff expressed regret for the collateral damage.
“Obviously, from the team’s perspective, we don’t want to take a Ferrari out, certainly not,” he admitted. “And I’m sure that Kimi doesn’t want to take a Ferrari out particularly, but it is what it is.
“It’s hard racing, unfortunate, and I’m sorry for Charles and Ferrari. But we want him to go for the moves and he should.”
For Villeneuve, Antonelli’s rash moves were proof the youngster is out of his depth. For Wolff, they were exactly the kind of hard knocks a rookie needs to grow.
With Monza on the horizon, the debate over Mercedes’ bold bet on youth will only intensify – and Antonelli now heads into his home race with both a point to prove and plenty of eyes on him.
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