Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff praised Kimi Antonelli after the young Italian prevailed in difficult conditions to finish the F1 Australian GP in P4.
During qualifying, Antonelli sustained floor damage after hitting a kerb in Q1, which prevented him from improving. Thus, the 18-year-old had to start the Australian GP from P16 on the grid.
On a damp track, the young Italian kept it clean apart from a spin at turn 4, and he fought through the field to finish a commendable P4. It included overtakes on the Saubers, Stroll and Alex Albon. Pitting on lap 44 for inters again allowed him to jump Tsunoda, Leclerc Hamilton and Gasly.
Toto Wolff on Antonelli’s performance
Speaking in his print media session after the Australian GP before the penalty was removed, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff noted that Antonelli showcased his ability to perform ‘under pressure.’
“I think that we were always pretty; how can I say we always knew the potential.
“We followed him since he was a kid, and he performs under pressure.
“Yesterday in qualifying it wasn’t what he’s doing.
“He just hit a bump at the wrong place, and he would have qualified much further ahead. And today you saw that.
“He was able to just properly reel everyone in slowly but surely without making any mistakes.
“He had a little spin. But otherwise, P5, which was P4, is the result that he merits.”
In an interview with Sky Sports F1, Wolff added:
“Yeah, clearly he started P16, had the fortune of a few people crashing out, but he took it in the right way.
“He just reeled them in one by one, showed the pace when he had no traffic, and then eventually ended up P4 on the road and P5 from a result, and that’s really impressive.“
5-second-time penalty
Despite crossing the line in P4 on the road, Antonelli was demoted to P5 after the stewards handed him a five-second time penalty for an incident in the pit lane.
The steward’s decision followed the release of the Mercedes driver into the path of Nico Hulkenberg from Kick Sauber.
After the race, Mercedes requested a “Right of Review,” which reinstated Antonelli’s impressive P4 finish.
Wolff reckoned that the penalty came by quickly despite the incident not being shown on the screens.
“No, 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.”
Wolff on the future of Antonelli after the F1 Australian GP
Mercedes’ Antonelli and Haas’ Oliver Bearman, became the only rookies to finish the Australian GP that also saw established drivers like Alonso and Sainz drop out.
To Antonelli’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, the accomplishment showed that the young Italian has a great future ahead of him.
“He was, you’re right, I mean, even very good drivers spun or hit the wall, and it’s easier to not finish than to finish, and he kept his cool, and 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.”
The 18-year-old is just around the corner from showcasing his talent, with the Chinese GP set to take place this weekend.
