Toto Wolff thinks Andrea Kimi Antonelli ‘proved’ he has the speed to be a Formula 1 driver with the Italian’s pole position for the Miami Sprint, but ‘still’ sees a key flaw.
The Bologna boy became F1’s youngest-ever polesitter at the Miami Grand Prix, as Antonelli took pole for the Miami Sprint by 0.045 seconds over Oscar Piastri of McLaren. The 18-year-old was also only 0.067s short of denying Red Bull’s Max Verstappen pole for the Grand Prix.
His form in Florida also marked the first time that Antonelli had out-qualified George Russell for any race format since the Italian replaced seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. His average Grand Prix qualifying gap to the Briton also fell from 0.366 to 0.286s.
Toto Wolff urges Andrea Kimi Antonelli to ‘learn’ how to manage the 2025 Pirelli F1 tyres
It is also not only the Silver Arrows academy product’s pace that has impressed the Brackley bunch. Mercedes believe Antonelli is capable of so much more, having been blown away by the very precise level of his analytical feedback that has helped improve the W16’s balance.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
131 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
115 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
99 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
93 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
53 |
| 6 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
41 |
But Wolff ‘still’ believes Antonelli needs to work on his tyre management to prevent Russell from leading Mercedes. He feels the 27-year-old has been able to get the most out of their car in the Grands Prix unlike the teenager, with Russell boasting 93 points to Antonelli’s 48.
Wolff told OE24: “George is calling the shots at the moment, is consistently at the front and gets the most out of the car on race Sundays. Kimi proved with his pole position that he has the speed. He still has to learn tyre management.”
George Russell has proven the 2025 Mercedes F1 car is better than Kimi Antonelli’s results
Russell is the only driver to finish every Sprint and Grand Prix so far in the 2025 F1 season in the top five positions. Antonelli, on the other hand, has thus far finished just one Grand Prix in the top five, which came on his debut for Mercedes when the Italian took P4 in Australia.
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Antonelli rose from P16 on the grid to P4 in Australia after overcoming the mixed conditions in the race, having exited qualifying in Q1 after damaging his floor when the Mercedes racer ran over the Turn 6 kerb. His other Grand Prix results have been P6 four times and P11 once.
Yet Wolff believes Russell can fight for the 2025 F1 drivers’ title if Mercedes also improve the W16’s tyre management, despite trailing Piastri by 38 points ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna GP at Imola. He has sealed one P2, three P3s and two P5 finishes so far this term.
