Kimi Antonelli secured an impressive home race victory at the Italian GP, with Toto Wolff comparing his development in F1 to that of an “AI agent”.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admitted that he is “amazed” at how quickly Kimi Antonelli has developed in Formula 1 across the 2026 season. The 20-year-old championship leader is only in his second year of F1 after stepping into the shoes of Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli’s rookie season was a mixed bag, with some strong performances but some equally poor mistakes and car problems. Regardless, Wolff always stood by his decision to promote the Italian, who was just 18 years old when he signed with Mercedes.
“Last year was according to plan,” Wolff said. “I’ve said there are going to be moments of brilliance, difficult moments.
“I think he started the season at a time when he found himself like a deer in the headlights. In his zone, in the car, extraordinary performances already, but not continuous.
“Then he had this negative spell where he made over nine races without scoring points. I remember Spa was terrible for him and he was feeling down. Monza was the point where I for the first time said to him, ‘listen, you’ve got to wake up here’. But never doubting. That’s why we gave him the opportunity.”
Antonelli’s 2026 performance change
As F1 entered its new technical era, Mercedes immediately emerged as front-runners, a challenge that Antonelli took impressively well to. He took his maiden win in the second race of the year and went on the win the next four Grands Prix afterwards.
“He came out after the winter, out of the blocks in a way that no one saw coming. The ability, how he processed last year. He’s been at all the races. He’s seen the pressure of the media, the attention that he gets. It’s in a way that the system has been processed and saved. And that’s why [he’s had] the results that we’ve seen afterwards.
“But it is still surprising and amazing to see how quickly he develops. For me, it’s like an AI agent that continuously self-improves and learns. That’s the speed.
“Also his age is for sure beneficial. The ability cognitively, intellectually to constantly become better.”
Even after storming from the back of the grid to victory in Monza and leading his teammate in the championship by 66 points, Antonelli maintains that he is not getting ahead of himself and taking the season “race by race”, as he told Sky Sports after the Italian GP.
“I just take race by race because you never know what can happen. Today went well, we had a massive opportunity and we took it, but of course next week we have Madrid and it’s going to be a new challenge.
“We will have to be on top of the game because it’s a new track for everyone and it’s going to be important to be on point in order to maximise the track time and everything.
“I’m going to enjoy this moment and then focus on the next one and then focus on the next one again until the end of the season.”
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