Mercedes boss Toto Wolff put Andrea Kimi Antonelli under immense pressure in his rookie Formula 1 season by naming the Italian wonderkid to replace Lewis Hamilton.
But the Silver Arrows’ decision to promote from their academy after Hamilton joined Ferrari is not completely paying off thus far in the 2025 F1 season. While Mercedes are in a fight with Ferrari for second in the constructors’ standings, they are leaning heavily on George Russell.
Russell boasts 194 of the Brackley bunch’s 260 points this term, with Antonelli only securing 66 across his first 16 rounds. Williams racer Alex Albon has even overtaken the Bologna boy for seventh place in the F1 drivers’ standings, after his P7 in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Antonelli only finished his first Italian GP as an F1 driver in P9, which was even only his third point-scoring finish during the past 10 rounds. Additionally, Antonelli received a five-second penalty for forcing Albon off the track at Monza, which demoted the Mercedes ace from P8.
Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty ImagesToto Wolff calling Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Italian Grand Prix ‘underwhelming’ stuns Nico Rosberg
The Italian GP quickly became yet another weekend that the 19-year-old will want to forget as soon as possible. Antonelli beached his Mercedes in FP2 at Monza and never recovered, so team principal Wolff admitted that his prospect was “underwhelming” at the Italian GP.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 324 2 293 3 230 4 194 5 163 6 117 7 70 8 66
Wolff still feels Antonelli will be a “very, very, very good” driver one day. But the home hero faltered at the Italian GP, adding to his misery after Antonelli crashed into Charles Leclerc in the Dutch GP. He also flirted with a penalty for exceeding track limits at Monza last Sunday.
But Wolff describing Antonelli’s Italian GP as “underwhelming” surprised Nico Rosberg, who feels it was the “first time” that he has heard his former Mercedes boss publicly criticise the teen. The 2016 champion even feels Wolff may be trying to put more pressure on Antonelli.
Rosberg said on Sky Sports’ The F1 Show: “It’s a surprising one because, at the moment, the only choice you really have is just [to] give Kimi the most time possible in the most calm way possible. And that means also not criticising him publicly.
“So, this change of tone from Toto for the first time ever? Oof. Usually, there’s a reason behind it. Toto is very calculated in his comments.
“Perhaps he’s wanting to put some pressure on Kimi and his family to try a different approach, modify their approach [or] review their approach.”
Toto Wolff will want to see more with Andrea Kimi Antonelli out of contract after 2025
Wolff looking to apply more pressure on Antonelli, as Rosberg suggests, would be surprising. The Mercedes chief admitted at Zandvoort that the Silver Arrows put him under “maximum pressure” by choosing the 19-year-old to replace seven-time F1 drivers’ champion Hamilton.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff
CategoryGeorge RussellAndrea Kimi Antonelli2025 points19466Grand Prix results160Grand Prix qualifying151Grand Prix wins10Grand Prix poles10Grand Prix podiums61Best finish1st3rdDisqualifications00Retirements04Retirements (classified finish)00Fastest laps22Grand Prix points finishes158Sprint results30Sprint Qualifying21Sprint wins00Sprint poles01Sprint podiums00The 2025 F1 teammate head-to-head battle of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli initially coped with the pressure amid the early flyaways, but his form fell off a cliff once the season arrived in Europe. Mercedes’ failed rear suspension upgrade also helped to derail his campaign, as Antonelli lost his confidence with the W16 due to the lack of stability.
Spins during practice for the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix have not helped his re-adaptation period, either. So, Wolff will have to hope Antonelli can find his groove again at tracks he has never raced at in Formula 1 thus far, with the Mercedes talent’s future also still up in the air.
While Wolff has stated that Mercedes will continue with Russell and Antonelli in the 2026 F1 season, neither driver has a contract for next term. Wolff signed Antonelli to a one-year deal to replace Hamilton, and only Red Bull and Alpine still have seats available on F1’s 2026 grid.