Kimi Antonelli, a testing machine: over 9,000 km completed. In an interview with the Auto Motor und Sport website, Toto Wolff discussed about Kimi Antonelli.

The Tricolor Returns
Alongside Lewis Hamilton’s debut with Ferrari, 2025 will also mark the full-time return of an Italian driver to F1. The very young Andrea Kimi Antonelli will step into the Mercedes cockpit vacated by the seven-time world champion to partner with George Russell. The Italian driver’s first and only F2 season was inconsistent, but Kimi Antonelli has had the opportunity in recent months to intensely acclimate within the Anglo-German team, completing an impressive testing program.

Almost 30 GPs of Testing
According to team principal Toto Wolff in an interview published in the print edition of the German website Auto Motor und Sport, Kimi Antonelli has covered over 9,000 km of testing with Mercedes, equivalent to about 29 and a half GPs. However, these numbers alone are not enough to place overly high expectations on the 18-year-old Italian in his first GPs, Toto Wolff warned. “You cannot assume that good test results will automatically translate into good race results,” he cautioned.

No Rush
The Viennese manager does not consider the recruitment of the Italian rookie, who grew up in the Mercedes Academy, as a risk—provided everything is kept in proper perspective. “If you expect him to be on pole position in Melbourne, to win the race, and immediately contend for the championship, then the risk is high because that won’t happen,” Toto Wolff stated. “But if you consider that the boy is 18 years old, has a lot of talent, but naturally needs to grow first and will make mistakes, then the risk is limited.”