Toto Wolff has hailed Kimi Antonelli’s Formula 1 United States Grand Prix drive as “the race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet”, with the Mercedes driver now needing only ninth place or higher in Mexico City to take the title.
Antonelli turned a pole start into a win at the Circuit of the Americas, while teammate George Russell endured a difficult weekend with a first-lap penalty leaving him eighth.
Asked whether the gap between his drivers came down to Antonelli’s brilliance or a poor weekend from Russell, the Mercedes team principal said it was both.
“On Kimi’s side, obviously the main headline is that, for me, [it was] the best race that he’s delivered so far,” Wolff told media. “Getting off the start with the inferior tyre and then controlling it at all times.”
Antonelli started on the medium compound, with front-row rival Max Verstappen, both Ferraris and Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull all on softs.
“The race of a champion who isn’t the champion yet, but exceptional,” Wolff continued. “So I think he’s outperformed the car. Maybe it’s a bit harsh to say, but I think his driving style is just glued to the car.
“We saw that in qualifying yesterday. On his last lap, he could have been another tenth and a half or two [quicker].”
Toto Wolff reveals George Russell’s struggles
Russell, however, struggled all weekend, which Wolff put down to how difficult the car is to keep in its operating window.
“George just struggled so much. And I believe this is because the operational window of the car is so difficult,” he said. “In Q2 he was there and thereabouts; in Q3 it didn’t work. He said that’s on him.”
Russell, who qualified sixth, was penalised on the opening lap. While chasing Hadjar, he went off at Turn 12, and the stewards ruled he had gained an advantage over Oscar Piastri, who was running behind. They cut the usual 10-second penalty to five, but serving it at his pit stop dropped Russell behind the McLaren, and he could not find a way past before the flag.
Wolff felt the outcome was harsh.
“We got stuck behind Piastri, which looks a bit unfair. I don’t know why he didn’t get past,” he said. “It’s the same engine, it’s the same electric charging and deployment. But I’m going to see him.”
Wolff added that the team would investigate why Russell’s car underperformed, pointing to Mercedes’ latest upgrade.
“I think the update we put on the car is difficult to operate,” he said. “We will try to retrace every decision that we took, and correlate [it] with the lack of performance on Friday and the relative outperformance on Sunday.
“But at least the positive news is that the car works. Now it’s about widening the window.”
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