Mercedes crew principal and CEO Toto Wolff shared a heartfelt message to Kimi Antonelli over the crew radio after the Italian driver secured his first Components 1 victory.
The Italian driver managed to fend off his Mercedes team-mate George Russell and Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to transform pole place right into a maiden grand prix victory.
Antonelli joined Mercedes to take the seat left by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who determined to maneuver to Ferrari after 12 years with the Brackley outfit.
Wolff confronted scrutiny on the time of Antonelli’s signing resulting from his age and fast development by the motorsport ladder. The younger driver had bypassed Components 3 to affix Components 2 in 2024 after which stepped as much as the Mercedes F1 crew in 2025.
“‘He’s too younger. We shouldn’t put him in a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller crew. He wants the expertise. Take a look at the errors he makes.’ Right here we go, Kimi. Victory,” Wolff mentioned to Antonelli after he took the chequered flag in Shanghai.
Wolff was requested about his radio message after the race.
“When issues go unhealthy, there are individuals who come out and say, ‘That was a nasty choice,’ and ‘Mercedes took an excessive amount of threat.’ And it was by no means actually harsh criticism as a result of individuals recognise the expertise that he has,” he mentioned.
“However there have been many voices throughout the sport and out of doors that mentioned, ‘That was a mistake to do.’ So it is good to have somewhat revanche. However clearly, it is one race win.
“And this sport that we stay in is manic depressive. Immediately, it is nice. In two weeks, we’re in Japan, and he places it within the wall, and folks say he is too younger. So I feel we have to simply preserve the toes on the bottom.”
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