Toto Wolff has issued a stern warning over the growing hype surrounding Kimi Antonelli following his first victory at the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
Antonelli reached new career heights in F1 as he stormed to victory in Shanghai, putting all criticism that he could not handle pressure to bed.
The W17 is the class of the field at present, Antonelli and Russell both claiming victories in the opening rounds by considerable margins.
Given Mercedes’ advantage, it seems a title battle between the pair is all but inevitable, with Antonelli up against the vastly more experienced Russell.
Wolff has now highlighted the dangers facing Antonelli, believing that the young Italian will, at somepoint, succumb to the immense pressure associated with fighting at the front.
First of all, you can see the hype that is going to start now, especially in Italy.” he said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“I can already see the headlines: ‘World champion, grande Kimi’ and whatever. And that’s really not good, because those mistakes are going to come.
“He’s just a kid, so it’s too early to even think about a championship. We have a good car that, at this stage, is capable of winning.”
Kimi Antonelli not yet in a position to fight George Russell?
Wolff confirmed that both drivers will have an equal opportunity to win races in the dominant W17, but once again said that Antonelli needs time to mature.
“Let’s see what kind of political knives are going to come out in the next few weeks and months,” he added. “But at the moment, it is a car that is capable of winning.
“Both have equal opportunity, but so long to talk about winning championships, and I think as a young person, he just needs the maturity to grow. And he has a fantastic driver as a team-mate, who is eight years longer in that spot.”
Rookies causing an upset to more experienced teammates in F1 is nothing new, with plenty of examples over the years.
The very driver Antonelli replaced at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, arrived at McLaren and immediately began to get under the skin of his then teammate, Fernando Alonso.
However, questions remain about whether Antonelli can handle the psychological battle of a championship bid, which is just as intense as the technical one.
READ MORE: What Mercedes bid for Alpine stake could mean for its F1 PU customer relations
Discussion about this post