Mercedes AMG Formula One team principal Toto Wolff has been targeted by his former driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst, Nico Rosberg, for criticizing Andrea Kimi Antonelli “publicly” after the recent Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where he secured P9.
Kimi Antonelli has proved himself to be F1’s top rookie thus far, given the 66 points he has scored placing him 8th in the Drivers’ Standings, 28 points more than Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar’s tally of 38 points.
Despite his impressive run, he has experienced setbacks in the form of rookie errors, a factor that Wolff had predicted at the beginning of the season, acknowledging the learning that comes with the mistakes and supporting the 19-year-old driver in the first year of his F1 journey.
However, Wolff’s stance changed after the race weekend at Monza, where Kimi Antonelli beached his Mercedes W16 F1 car in FP2, bringing his session to an end. During the Grand Prix, the Italian driver attracted a five-second penalty for pushing Alex Albon off the track. This caused Kimi Antonelli to drop from P8 to P9. Wolff described his race weekend as “underwhelming,” while emphasizing that his support for the young driver remains unchanged. He said:
Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy and Mercedes walks in pitlane during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 4, 2025 in Monza, Italy.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy and Mercedes walks in pitlane during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 4, 2025 in Monza, Italy.
Kym Illman/Getty Images
“Underwhelming this weekend, underwhelming. You can’t put the car in the gravel bed and then expect to be there, and all of the race was underwhelming. It doesn’t change anything on my support and confidence in his future, because I believe he’s going to be very, very, very good, but today was underwhelming.”
Rosberg, who raced for Mercedes from 2010 to the end of 2016, said that Wolff usually has a purpose to serve through his comments. He said on the Sky Sports’ F1 Show:
“Yeah, it’s a surprising one, because at the moment, the only choice you really have is just give Kimi the most time possible, in the most calm way possible, and that means also not criticising him publicly.
“And so this change of tone from Toto for the first time ever. Phew. Usually, there’s a reason behind that. 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, review their approach.
“Not, yeah, not sure there. But the fact of the matter is that Kimi is a generational talent. We all know that, but it’s more difficult for him than we all thought so far. And it’s a bit strange that it’s still so difficult.
“Like, if you look at the statistics, in racing it’s 19 to zero to George, and in qualifying it’s 17 to two to George.
“So it’s a bit… I don’t know. It’s a really hard one and an unfortunate one, because we all want him to go well. He can go well, we know that it’s… yeah I don’t know.
“But the clock starts to tick at some point also, you know?”