It was one of the key questions leading up to the 2025 season: What does Mercedes expect from Antonelli’s rookie year? Will the team give Kimi the natural adjustment time that every newcomer needs? Toto Wolff addressed the topic, outlining the environment in which the team hopes Kimi Antonelli will develop. Toto Wolff was very clear, even revealing a behind-the-scenes detail from nearly 20 years ago before Lewis Hamilton’s F1 debut.
“When we decided to promote Kimi, we were all aware that we were betting on a young driver who had shown enormous potential in the junior categories. His goal will be to grow, learn, and familiarize himself with the circuits we’ll race on so that he can be at his best for 2026 when we begin a new technical cycle.” – he pointed out.
“I expect a season with great moments but also some tough days.” Then there’s the dynamic with George Russell, and here too, Toto Wolff was clear in emphasizing that he does not want to put pressure on either driver.
“When Ron Dennis decided to promote Lewis to Formula 1, he said that even a one-second gap to Fernando Alonso (Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at McLaren in 2007) wouldn’t be a disaster. Fernando probably thought he was in for an easy ride, but then everything changed. I won’t tell George that we expect him to always have Kimi behind him—we wouldn’t have promoted him to F1 if we thought that way.”
“I believe that in terms of speed, Kimi will be right there with George, but there are other aspects he will need to get used to, starting with crucial tire management. But I think his learning curve will be steep. We have a driver lineup consisting of an 18-year-old and a 27-year-old—both young, but with nearly a decade between them. I hope they push each other, and push each other hard.” – the Mercedes team principal explained ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
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