Toto Wolff Labels Kimi Antonelli's Monza Performance 'Underwhelming'

Kimi Antonelli's recent performance at Monza has drawn sharp criticism from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, raising questions about the young driver's consistency in his debut F1 season.

Why it matters:

Antonelli, a highly-touted prospect, has faced a challenging period, including a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix. His second consecutive error-strewn weekend at Monza puts pressure on him as Mercedes considers its 2026 driver lineup.

The details:

• Practice Troubles: Antonelli put his car in the gravel during second practice, costing him valuable long-run preparation.
• Race Start: He suffered excessive wheelspin off the line, dropping from sixth to tenth immediately.
• Penalties: Despite recovering to eighth, repeated track limits infringements earned him a black-and-white warning flag, followed by a five-second penalty for forcing Alex Albon off track, relegating him to ninth.
• Wolff's Assessment: Wolff described the weekend as "Underwhelming. You can't put the car in the gravel bed and expect to be there. All of the race was underwhelming."
• Antonelli's Admission: Antonelli acknowledged his errors, stating, "I didn't do long runs in FP2 because of my mistakes, so I wasn't really prepared for the race. That also didn't help."

The big picture:

Wolff highlighted a pattern of early-weekend errors hindering Antonelli's confidence. He also suggested Antonelli's cautious approach to Pierre Gasly reflected lingering nerves from his earlier clash with Charles Leclerc.

"A clean weekend means almost not to carry too much trauma of previous mistakes into the next session or into the next weekend, because that is baggage," Wolff explained.

What's next:

Despite the public criticism, Wolff reiterated his unwavering support and confidence in Antonelli's long-term potential, describing him as a "great driver" with "unbelievable ability and natural talent." Antonelli remains central to Mercedes' future plans, though no agreement for 2026 has been finalized beyond his current deal. He currently stands eighth in the standings.