First F1 podium ends Kimi Antonelli’s search for…

Toto Wolff has always shouldered the blame for Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s huge crash on his first Formula 1 outing last year, with the Mercedes team boss admitting that dropping the teenager into the car at his home grand prix might not have been the best call.

Antonelli’s long-awaited debut lasted just 10 minutes before he crashed out of FP1 at the Italian Grand Prix. A huge shunt at Parabolica ended his running prematurely and left question marks, externally at least, over his suitability as a candidate to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

Mercedes, and Wolff, kept faith and have been rewarded by some impressive Antonelli performances so far this season – as well as some errors that come with the territory of being an F1 rookie.

Taking sprint pole in Miami had been the pinnacle of Antonelli’s fledgling F1 career until he came home third in Montreal last time out – and now he wants to keep the momentum running from there, starting in Austria this weekend.

“I think Canada was really important for me. It was a big relief, but as well it was important because I think there was a couple of times in the season where I came close to the podium,” he said.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes F1 W15 (Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images)

“I mean, Australia first race, I came incredibly close, and as well with Miami, with the pole in the sprint, and then P3 in the quali. Definitely, I remember back then that was the goal to be at least in the podium, but I just missed out, and to finally achieve that in Canada definitely was really important.

“I think as well, this will help me as a driver to drive a bit more relaxed as well. Because, I'm not going to lie, in the previous weekends I've been maybe a bit too tense on some occasions, and a bit too conservative as well – especially in practice.

“I think now is really the time, after achieving this result, to make a step, and to make a step further, and to improve myself – especially as well on the approach in practice. So, trying to explore a bit more, especially the grip, because I think in qualifying I've been always arriving with too many question marks, and having to explore too much, and to learn too much.

“In qualifying you don't really have much time, because it's only one lap on the tyre and then that's it. So, I think it's really the time to make a step on this side, but I'm very excited for the weekend, and hopefully it can be a good one.”

While Wolff was keen to move on quickly from the Monza incident, Antonelli has now revealed it has been playing on his mind ever since and pinpointed the crash as the reason behind his cautious approach to practice.

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes (Photo by: James Sutton / Motorsport Images via Getty Images)

“I think still in Canada I was a bit too conservative, especially in FP,” he added.

“Because if you look at the trend in FP, I would always arrive quite late into the session. I would always put the time quite late in the session, just because it kind of required many laps to get there.

“I feel like, obviously, I truly believe I overcorrected after what happened in Monza, and now I'm a bit too safe, I'm a bit on the safe side.

“But that's why I think results like this also help you to move forward and to make the step. I think now is the time to do the step, because nowadays F1 is super tight, especially when you see qualifying, the gaps are just so close that even a tenth can put you on the back foot.

“So, it's really important to be on the top of the game, and that's why I cannot keep arriving in qualifying with so many question marks, and not the right confidence on how much grip there is, and having to explore too much and to learn too much, so I think now is the time, especially in practice, to get back a bit closer to Monza. Not exactly like Monza, but get closer to that in order to arrive ready in qualifying.”