Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is unconcerned about Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s performance dip after an impressive start to his rookie Formula 1 season.
The Italian driver started the season off on a high note with a fourth-place finish in the Australian Grand Prix, before going on to secure his first sprint race pole position in Miami and his first F1 podium with a third-place finish in the Canadian Grand Prix.
But after Canada, where his team-mate George Russell celebrated the victory, the team implemented new upgrades which sent the W16 in the wrong direction. Following the race in Montreal, Antonelli suffered two race retirements in the Austrian and British grands prix and a 16th-place finish in Belgium.
“Kimi obviously started very strongly with a race that was fantastic under wet conditions and some spectacular overtakes on the Sunday,” Wolff explained in a Mercedes debrief video.
“All of us have never doubted his performances. We knew there would be ups and downs – that’s part of the development curve.
“In Miami in the sprint qualifying, he had his first pole, and that was completely on merit. The next highlights followed, with a podium in Montreal.
“We mustn’t forget he’s 18 years old and he’s going to learn a lot. He’s going to make mistakes – and on other days he’s going to be brilliant. Long-term, that’s what just is completely normal.”
Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
After the Brackley outfit made changes ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Russell claimed the third spot on the podium behind the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Antonelli took the last points-paying position in tenth place.
“It was tough, it was tough,” Antonelli said after the race. “First of all, it was not the plan to do one-stop. But then considering the position where we were, we decided to just keeping going given the pace was quite decent.
“Especially when I was in free air, we were able to improve the time and be consistent. But yeah, it was difficult, it was difficult. Happy to have brought home the first point of the European season.”
The 18-year-old added: “I am really happy that my confidence in the car has come back this weekend. I leave Budapest feeling much more comfortable after moving back to the previous rear suspension. Yesterday’s qualifying was just a shame as the pace was clearly there.
“We can take this feeling into the second half of the season and look forward to it with optimism now.”
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