Toto Wolff reckons: “It was said that Antonelli was not ready for F1 and he is already a champion. We have known him since he was 11 years old and for me it is surreal because I still see him as a baby”

When Toto Wolff decided to take a chance and give him the seat of Lewis Hamilton in mercedes To an 18-year-old young man with very little experience in single-seaters and who had only been in F2 for a year without excellent performance, many questioned his judgment. It was considered that we were facing a hasty move so that what happened to them with Verstappen would not happen again, who escaped when he had the opportunity to sign him when the Dutchman was not even a teenager. However, in less than two seasons, Kimi Antonelli showed the world why those from Brackley opted for him.

In 2026, the Italian became the youngest driver in history to win the title of Formula 1 world champion. Kimi, aged 20 years and 68 days, was crowned after winning nine races in the first campaign with the new regulations. The dominance was such that it allowed him to win with four Grand Prix still to be played, one of the greatest advantages that has been seen in recent years. For this reason, Wolff remembered all those who doubted his decision.

“The baby is already a champion. I am very happy and proud of the whole team. We had that difficult period last year and we were criticized a lot. “It was said that he was not ready to be in Formula 1 and now he is world champion,” Wolff said in statements to DAZN.

“We’ve known him since he was 11 years old and it’s almost surreal for me to see him because he’s still a baby.and. And the baby is a world champion, I don’t believe it. Not only is he strong in talent, he also has great character. He is humble… He can compartmentalize, he is not distracted by noise… The way he processes information is outstanding. If you teach him a series of data, he understands them and in the next session, the problem disappears and he is able to execute everything perfectly,” he said.

Wolff already knew what it was like to rise to the top with Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton’s most fulfilling era was with the German at the reins of Brackley. In addition, he also had to deal with the team when Rosberg stood up to the Briton and beat him in 2016. But the bet of Antonelli, his protégé, is another incomparable success for the boss of the silver arrows.

“Rosberg won the championship against one of the best in all of history and he deserves it because he gave everything. Yesabout Lewis, I’m proud to have been on the road with him and he is the most culturally relevant pilot… And now he is the youngest,” he expressed in closing.