Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed his one regret regarding Andrea Kimi Antonelli's introduction to Formula 1. He believes that Antonelli's 2024 Monza test in Free Practice 1 was probably not the best decision on his end.
After a rigorous private testing schedule under TPC rules, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was given his F1 break during a grand prix weekend at Monza in 2024. Back then, he drove George Russell's car.
In line with this, he initially set the fastest lap of the session, but on his second push lap, calamity struck. In his attempts to push the boundaries of what he could do, he rammed the car into the barriers at the Parabolica (Autodromo Nazionale Monza), experiencing an impact of 52g.
Toto Wolff, while talking along the same lines recently, said:
"The most important [thing] is that the development trajectory continues to be positive. I think when we look at last year, it wasn't our most intelligent call to put him in the car in Monza, give him all the pressure, and then obviously with the incident, that's something that's in the back of your mind." (Via Racingnews365)Andrea Kimi Antonelli is in his debut Formula 1 season this year, and after the first 12 races, he is currently sitting in seventh place in the drivers' standings with 63 points. His senior Mercedes teammate, George Russell, is in fourth place with 147 points (1 Grand Prix win and 5 podium finishes).
Toto Wolff's take on Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen's Austria crash

The 2025 Austrian Grand Prix weekend was a tough one for the Mercedes Formula 1 team. George Russell was only able to manage a P5 finish in the main Grand Prix, whereas Andrea Kimi Antonelli came away with a DNF, following his lap 1 crash with Max Verstappen.
Neither driver was able to continue in the race, and in line with this, Toto Wolff shared his take on what happened. Via an interaction with Formula 1, the Austrian said:
"It’s unfortunate for Max and Red Bull that Kimi hit him, but it’s racing. It’s a shame that Max… that we took another car out with us, but that can happen to the great ones, to the inexperienced ones, to the experienced ones – it’s just part of F1."Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are yet to renew their contracts with the Toto Wolff-led Mercedes team. Moreover, with the recent reports of a potential interest from Mercedes in the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, flying around, it is going to be fascinating to see whether both Antonelli and Russell are able to sign contract extensions.
The next few weeks could prove to be key in determining who gets to drive for Toto Wolff's team in the 2026 season.
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Edited by Mitali