"Toto Wolff says it took him five minutes to decide on Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton's replacement when he first learned the seven-time champion was leaving Mercedes for Ferrari last year. It's unlikely such decisiveness allowed for an analysis of all the potential consequences of thrusting an 18-year-old in a front-running Formula 1 car, but the Mercedes boss made clear from the start that deep lows would inevitably be mixed in among the joyful highs."
""When we made it clear last year in Monza that we would give him the opportunity, we were also saying that we would give him a year of learning," Wolff said on Sunday after Antonelli's nightmare weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix. "And then there would be moments where we'd tear our hair out and there would be other moments of brilliance. And I think this weekend [in Zandvoort] pretty much sums that up.""
Toto Wolff decided in five minutes to appoint 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton's replacement after Hamilton left Mercedes for Ferrari. The promotion placed a teenager in a front-running Formula 1 car and carried expected highs and deep lows. Antonelli showed raw pace early in the season but has struggled to reproduce it consistently, scoring only one championship point in the last five rounds. Visible mistakes including collisions with Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc intensified questions about the decision. Mercedes remains committed to Antonelli as a long-term prospect and planned a year focused on learning and development despite public setbacks.
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