Toto Wolff admits Kimi Antonelli's mistakes will be 'more visible' than George Russell's when F1 career begins

Toto Wolff has acknowledged that placing Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes for his rookie Formula 1 season means any mistakes made by the teenager will be “more visible” than they were for George Russell when the latter entered the sport with Williams.

Antonelli made his F1 weekend debut in the opening practice session at the Italian Grand Prix, where – despite impressing with his initial laps – his time behind the wheel quickly came to an end when he crashed into the barriers after just 10 minutes of running.

The error did not prevent the Silver Arrows from confirming one day later that the youngster will partner Russell at the squad in 2025, with both drivers having progressed through the ranks as part of Mercedes’ Junior Programme.

Reflecting on the likenesses between Antonelli and Russell’s journeys to the F1 team, Wolff commented: “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.

“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.

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“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, a difference between the two is that Russell made his debut with Williams in 2019, a team that were running at the back of the field during that time. The 26-year-old went on to spend three years with the Grove-based outfit before being promoted to Mercedes in 2022.

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While Wolff feels in hindsight that Russell’s tenure at Williams should have been shorter, he also recognised that the Briton’s time there allowed him to make errors in a less visible way – something that will be different for Antonelli.

“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.

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“But 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 has also given his backing to Antonelli, with the two-time race winner positive that his new team mate will learn from any errors he makes.

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“When I look back to when I was 18 years old, there’s obviously so much to learn,” Russell conceded. “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.

“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’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.”