Leader of the championship after eleven races, Kimi Antonelli impresses Toto Wolff with the speed at which he has progressed at Mercedes.
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The rapid progress of Kimi Antonelli continues to impress at Mercedes. In only his second season in Formula 1, the Italian has taken the lead in the championship and seems to have reached several milestones in just a few months.
Mercedes has perfectly managed the start of this new regulatory era with eight wins in the first eleven Grands Prix. Six of these were won by Antonelli, who enters the summer break with a 50-point lead in the championship.
A situation hard to imagine a year ago. For his debut in 2025, the young Italian had alternated promising performances, mistakes, and more difficult moments. At only 19 years old, he now shows a mastery that even surprises Toto Wolff.
“He is a different young man”
The Mercedes boss himself admits having difficulty explaining such rapid development. Beyond Antonelli’s pure speed, it is especially his approach to race weekends and his ability to take a step back that impress him.
“Why? I have no idea. In a few months, a different young man has appeared”, Toto Wolff confides.
The Austrian takes the example of the free practice sessions at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Antonelli was then struggling to complete a clean lap with the soft tires. Rather than insisting on getting a representative time at all costs, he preferred to stop his program of fast laps.
“Today, he couldn’t complete a lap with the soft tires. Any young driver would have said: ‘I’ll do another one.’ He said: ‘I’m coming back to the pits. Let’s move on to long stints.'”
A decision revealing the confidence gained by Antonelli. The Mercedes driver did not need to see his name immediately at the top of the timing sheet to know he had the necessary pace.
Learning ability that impresses Wolff
Mercedes had precisely identified where their driver was losing time. But again, Antonelli did not feel the need to immediately try to fix the problem.
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“He didn’t need to have the time displayed. He was told: ‘We are losing a tenth and a half in turn 4 because you lift off.’ He replied: ‘It’s okay, tomorrow it will come.'”
This calm contrasts with some difficulties encountered during his first campaign in Formula 1. Antonelli now seems capable of quickly assimilating the information provided by his team, then turning it into concrete progress behind the wheel.
When asked which aspect of this evolution surprised him the most, Wolff cannot isolate just one.
“Everything is a surprise. That a person can progress so much in just a few months… His ability to assimilate information, process it, and then put it into practice is exceptional.”
A historic record now within reach
Toto Wolff goes even further when comparing the trajectory of his protégé to those of other young drivers he has observed during his career.
“This is the best I have seen in a young driver in terms of such rapid progress.”
A development that is directly reflected in the results. Antonelli has regularly outperformed his teammate George Russell this season, both thanks to his speed in qualifying and his race pace.
With six wins and a 50-point lead at mid-season, the Italian now has a chance to make Formula 1 history. If he wins the world title in 2026, he will become the youngest world champion in history, breaking the record set by Sebastian Vettel in 2010.
Mercedes still refuses to consider the championship as secured, but Antonelli’s rapid transformation is certainly one of the great stories of this first half of the season.
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