Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has urged Andrea Kimi Antonelli to continue bold on-track moves, despite the accident that took Charles Leclerc out of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
The Italian and Leclerc‘s Ferrari collided on Lap 53, after a bold manoeuvre into Turn 3 sent Leclerc into the barriers and out of the race.
Antonelli was given a 10-second time penalty for the collision, and was revealed to have apologised personally to Ferrari by Fred Vasseur after the race.
Leclerc delivered a brutal assessment of the clash, saying it was “too aggressive” and was “not a rookie mistake”.
Antonelli himself was also candid about the situation, saying: “I just tried at some point to let it go, but it was not enough. Obviously, I feel sorry to him.
“Next time I’ll probably think twice before making the move – unless I’m 100% sure I’m going to stick it.”
Wolff was pragmatic about the incident, telling media including Motorsport Week that he was well aware 2025 would be a big learning curve for the teenager.
“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,” he said.
“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.
“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. Up and downs, I was absolutely expected from this season. Every one of those days is going to be a learning for next year.”
Wolff: Ferrari fans ‘would be happy’ with combative Antonelli driving
Wolff was asked whether it would be a further complication that Antonelli, an Italian, took out a Ferrari driver just a week before the Italian Grand Prix.
“Well, you know, I was thinking in the race, what would it have been if Kimi would have overtaken a Ferrari?” the Austrian pondered, but concluded the ‘tifosi’ would appreciate Antonelli’s racey mindset.
“I think the people in Italy would have been happy,” he added. 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.
“Obviously, from the team’s perspective, we don’t want to take a Ferrari out, certainly not.
“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.”
Antonelli has had a mixed debut season, which started brightly with a points finish on his debut in Melbourne.
He followed this up with pole position for the Miami Sprint Race, and scored his maiden podium in Montreal, but since then, it has been a downward spiral.
Much of this has been down to the inexperience of being able to second-guess and interpret the tricky W16, a car that has struggled for performance in the European leg of the campaign.
When asked if Antonelli is meeting his expectations, Wolff admitted there has been some good and bad moments, but believes the team’s lack of championship fight this year has been a beneit in that regard.
“Well, you always wish that the learning has less humps and bumps, humps and bumps, I suppose, than he has today because the swings are enormous,” he said.
“But it’s there. It just needs to, you know, it needs to be unpeeled with like an artichoke, where at the end there is the gold.
“Well, my analogies are not great today! But you know what I mean. It’s there.
“And we have no doubt and in a way, why we’re taking it with a certain ease is that we’re not fighting for a World Championship.
“We’re fighting for P2 and P3. And we all want to give it the best shot for ourselves. But I can cope with it easier than if it was for a championship.”
READ MORE – Ferrari reveals Kimi Antonelli apology after Charles Leclerc clash in F1 Dutch GP
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