Toto Wolff was rather taken aback after Kimi Antonelli received a time penalty late in the Australian Grand Prix.

It was one which Wolff said Mercedes had no time to discuss with the stewards over, and one which had not made it onto the world feed.

Kimi Antonelli penalty fair? Toto Wolff ‘can only shake head’

Antonelli was on course to finish P4 in a rain-impacted Australian GP, a solid drive in his debut Grand Prix, though had to make do for P5 after the stewards issued a five-second time penalty in the closing stages for an unsafe release.

It was an incident which Wolff pointed out was not televised, and the outcome left the Mercedes boss unimpressed.

Asked by Sky F1 if Mercedes had any time to discuss Antonelli’s penalty with the stewards, Wolff replied: “No. And you can only shake your head.

“It came up there’s an incident. Nobody saw it, it wasn’t played. And 90 seconds later, there was a penalty of five seconds, so…”

However, despite that setback, Wolff was impressed by Antonelli’s drive from P16 to P5 on a treacherous Albert Park circuit, one that even caught out the likes of last year’s Australian GP winner Carlos Sainz, who crashed his Williams behind the Safety Car.

“I mean, even very good drivers span or hit the wall, and it’s easier to not finish than to finish,” Wolff stated.

“He kept his cool and yeah, it was just very impressive to see. And it shows that he has a good future, as long as the trajectory keeps being like it is.”

More on the Australian Grand Prix

👉 2025 Australian Grand Prix – F1 standings after Round 1 of F1 2025 season

👉 2025 Australian Grand Prix – Official F1 results (Albert Park)

Mercedes were represented on the podium by George Russell, who unable to challenge the McLarens and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for pace – but clear of the Ferraris – gladly capitalised on Oscar Piastri’s spin as the rain returned.

But, Wolff made it clear the challenge Mercedes has on its hands to reel in McLaren, highlighting their tyre management as a major strength.

“They were just in a league of their own,” Wolff said of McLaren.

“It’s impressive to see from a let’s say, fan standpoint, but as a competitor, we just need to, you know, deploy everything we have in our in our arsenal, in our armoury, to just try to catch them, because when they go, they go, and that was impossible to hold them.

“They’re just so good at tyre management. You push your tyres and you can hold on for a lap or two, and if you fall out of the window, then you cook them.

“And they have just such a wide window that they’re able to push, push, push on the tyre like no tomorrow.”

Read next – Australian GP: Norris survives heart-in-mouth moment to win crash-strewn F1 2025 opener