Mercedes’ Toto Wolff heaped praise on Kimi Antonelli after he impressed in Miami by converting pole position into victory for the third consecutive Grand Prix, with the Team Principal admitting that no one “would have expected this kind of run”.
After enjoying a fantastic start to the season, the Silver Arrows experienced their toughest competition yet as many of their rivals brought extensive upgrade packages to Miami, with McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari all closing down the gap in the Sprint.
The shorter format saw Antonelli and George Russell finish outside of the podium positions for the first time this year while McLaren achieved a 1-2 finish with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, forcing Mercedes to re-evaluate their approach for the rest of the weekend.
Antonelli returned with a vengeance in Qualifying, charging to his third pole position over Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc before he recovered from a shaky start and concern over downshifting issues to win the Miami Grand Prix.
“It’s easier to slow someone, climb someone down that is wild, because you won’t be able to accelerate a donkey,” Wolff said. “For me, that was his best race so far. It reminds me of his karting days in Formula 4.”
Slow starts have plagued the Italian driver this season, with teams like Ferrari often capitalising to gain positions, but Wolff acknowledged that his lock-up going into Turn 1 – which allowed Leclerc to temporarily sail into the lead – was not his fault.
“It’s not at all on him,” the team boss explained. “I think today and yesterday were team mistakes. We all know it’s just not good enough. We’re not doing a good enough job in giving them a tool in their hands, whether it’s clutch or the grip estimates.
“We are the only ones who, let’s say, haven’t got that right now for a few races. We just have to dig even deeper to try to understand how we can fix that, because I agree that the gaps are not big enough to cruise into the sunset and therefore you can’t be missing starts.”
In the latter stint of the race, Antonelli faced pressure from the lead McLaren of Norris, who reduced the 19-year-old’s advantage to around a second but was ultimately unable to find a way past and crossed the line 3.264s behind the Mercedes.
While it wasn’t a dominant victory, it marked Antonelli’s third win of the season, leaving Wolff acutely aware of the need to help the teenager remain level-headed throughout the remaining 18 rounds.
“That is the risk that he’s being carried away too quickly,” Wolff said. “We know that the parents are going to keep him grounded.
“I think that it’s astounding, these few races. In a way, it’s what we’ve predicted as a team, that you would have ups and downs last season – moments of brilliance, moments where you want to tear your hair out.
“This year, it’s coming together. I don’t think that any of us would have expected this kind of run. We’ve given him a car that is very good, and an engine that is right, but how he’s been able to monetise on that every single weekend is special.”
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