Toto Wolff reckons Andrea Kimi Antonelli “made too many mistakes” in a disappointing outing for the Mercedes Formula 1 team at the Italian Grand Prix.
Antonelli crossed the line in eighth, but a five-second penalty for forcing Alex Albon off at Turn 3 dropped the 19-year-old rookie to ninth while team-mate George Russell finished fifth.
Russell was 32.881s off winner Max Verstappen, who dominated from pole despite the championship-leading McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri starting directly behind.
Wolff thinks the Red Bull driver “made everyone else look silly” while ruing an underwhelming weekend for Mercedes at Monza, which keeps it third in the 2025 constructors’ standings.
"They really need to ask themselves what he’s doing differently,” said Wolff of Verstappen to Servus TV. “Overall, we weren’t competitive over the weekend.
“A fifth and an eighth place are absolutely not satisfactory. I don’t think, with our current set-up, we have a car that we can consistently drive onto the podium. But Kimi made too many mistakes.
"He simply needs to put together a solid weekend. Then he’ll be racing on equal terms with Leclerc and George. And with George, things also weren’t completely smooth today."
The incident with Albon continued a tough run for Antonelli, who dropped back after a poor start having also caused a red flag for going off in FP2.
“I think that was simply unnecessary,” Wolff told Sky Sports Germany of Antonelli’s manoeuvre.
“Albon was so much faster - you can defend yourself, use your elbows if you have to. Or if you can’t defend, then make sure you don’t lose time. But that wasn’t needed.”
