Formula 1 has a new phenomenon on the rise, and Kimi Antonelli’s rapid evolution has surprised even Mercedes itself. Team principal Toto Wolff recalled the young Italian’s first meeting with the team and told a curious story involving technical director James Allison.
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Kimi Antonelli has already been breaking important records in Formula 1. The driver became the youngest pole position in history, at nineteen years, six months, and eighteen days, in addition to taking the championship lead at nineteen years, seven months, and four days. He is also the second youngest race winner, trailing only Max Verstappen.
With the current minimum age of eighteen to compete in the category, and the fact that top teams rarely bet on such young talents, these records could stand for a long time. Antonelli has been part of the Mercedes structure since April 2019, when he joined the junior driver program even before his teens.
After the Italian’s second consecutive victory at the Japanese GP, Wolff commented on the young driver’s evolution and recalled his first visit to the team: “You see how fast everything goes and how fast we also age. It feels like yesterday when he was just a child,” said Wolff.
The executive also recounted Allison’s reaction at that moment: “When Kimi walked into the office and met James, he thought it was a lost child looking for his parents,” said Wolff. “It’s incredible, yesterday he was fourteen, today he is nineteen, he won two races in a row in Formula 1, and we are very happy with his development,” he stated.
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Aware of Antonelli’s potential, Mercedes adopted a cautious strategy during his career in the junior categories. During his Formula 2 season, the Italian had little exposure to the press, participating only in official press conferences after finishing in the top three.
Wolff also highlighted the collective work within the team to develop the young talent: “The truth is that, as a team, from Gwen Lagrue, who leads our junior program and identified him when he was eleven, to the engineers and marketing staff, everyone contributed to giving him opportunities and protecting him,” he added.
Finally, the Mercedes boss emphasized that the team intends to maintain this protection, even with the current success: “That is another factor now. We need to protect him from people talking about F1 titles. It is a joint effort to have two drivers from the junior program leading this championship,” Wolff added, referring to George Russell, who also came from the Mercedes junior program.
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