Toto Wolff: Antonelli’s speed is “excellent,” but experience still needed on tyres

Young Kimi Antonelli has once again intrigued the F1 public, and his qualifying performance in Miami was particularly praised by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. The teenager first took pole position in the Sprint, becoming the youngest driver to take pole in any F1 format, and then qualified third for the main race. Although he dropped down the order in the race, Wolff was delighted with his raw pace and rapid progress.

“I think the highlight was definitely his speed in one lap, really excellent,” said Wolff. “It’s another testament to his talent and a good indication of what’s to come.”

Antonelli struggled a bit during the race, particularly on the hard compound. But Wolff insists it’s just part of the learning process.

“The race was challenging because it’s hard to find the right reference points here. You can ask yourself, was the stint on the medium fast enough? George, for example, was held back for too long on the hard tyres – it wasn’t ideal. When Kimi switched to the hard, it was clear that he still lacked experience in managing the tyres.”

“Bono tried to lead him, but when you’re in that car, it’s not easy at all. And that’s fine. It’s just part of the learning curve. And it’s not a disappoiantment, on the contrary – I think he did a very good job.”

Wolff: We’re still suffering from tyre degradation

Despite solid qualifying paces from both Antonelli and Russell, Wolff was brutally honest about Mercedes’ key problem – tyre wear.

Russell finished on the podium, but more than 30 seconds behind the McLarens of Piastre and Norris.

“I think we have a really fast car in one lap or a few laps. But as soon as we start a longer stint, we don’t know what to do with the tyres. McLaren shows how it’s done,” Wolff explained.

“Red Bull is doing better with Max, but it’s not easy for them either. We are solid, but McLaren is teaching us a lesson here. They know how to stay fast through the corners without overheating the tyres. That’s a level we have to aim for and find a way to reach it from an engineering perspective.”

Wolff admits that the raw speed is there, but that consistency in the races is lacking:

“When you open everything up in qualifying, you see that we are somewhere there. But the points are awarded on Sunday, and that means maintaining the pace for a longer period, which we don’t know at the moment.”

“We have to be better. We have to understand where we are losing. We have to identify what is most affecting the performance and that’s what we are working on. We are experimenting, testing and we will definitely find a solution. I am confident that we will challenge McLaren.”

Mercedes knows where we stand. And while Antonelli shows that the future has arrived earlier than many expected, the team from Brackley is waiting for another step - one that leads from potential to victory.