Toto Wolff has been working hard to find the next big talent in Formula 1 after missing out on Max Verstappen during his early years in junior formulas.
The Mercedes team principal was responsible for taking some of the best talent through to F1 over the years, including Valtteri Bottas, George Russell and Esteban Ocon, but the next great driver could be closer to home.
Recently his six-year-old son Jack Wolff has been racing in go-karts, as was seen on the F1 docuseries Drive to Survive, and Wolff has enlisted the help of one of his drivers to give him a hand on how to improve.
In an interview with The Athletic, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has detailed how he has been working with Wolff’s son to help improve his karting skills.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli helping Toto Wolff’s son with karting skills
Antonelli’s karting record speaks for itself, with him winning 15 titles between starting in 2014 and 2020, which was part of the reason why he was spotted by Mercedes talent scout Gwen Lagrue who recently labelled him ‘special’ in an interview with Autosport, and eventually offered a contract by Wolff.
Although he crashed in his first official F1 weekend with Mercedes, Antonelli’s brilliance behind the wheel was later praised by Wolff as he managed to beat Max Verstappen in the speed traps at Monza.
The 18-year-old has been working with Wolff’s son on helping him hone his karting skills during the off-season, and made some encouraging comments on the youngster.
“He’s not bad, he’s been improving quite a lot,” said Antonelli. “Every test, he was getting better and better. It was nice to see.”
Kimi Antonelli once had his dad ‘hide’ him to get in F1 paddock
With him being the third-youngest driver in F1 history, Antonelli will have a lot of pressure when he arrives on the grid for the Australian Grand Prix in March.
Antonelli will have a lot of experience to draw on with George Russell and Valtteri Bottas, while Mercedes has been noted for building a support network around Antonelli.
The Italian actually had his first taste of F1 back when his father, also a racing driver, was competing in the Porsche support race at the 2014 German Grand Prix.
The race, which used to be bankrolled by Mercedes due to lack of funding, was held at Hockheim circuit and Antonelli snuck in while covered by a set of tyres.
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