Even Toto Wolff is surprised by the development of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. It was the Mercedes team boss who took the gamble early and immediately brought the young Italian into Mercedes for his Formula 1 debut. Yet even Wolff had not dared to dream of the speed with which the current championship leader is developing as a driver: ‘He is just like an AI system that constantly improves and learns itself.’
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli is currently in only his second season in Formula 1. Yet the young driver already has seven Grand Prix wins and a significant lead in the championship to his name. The growth of the Italian even surprises his own team boss Toto Wolff, who sees a big difference compared to the Kimi Antonelli of a year ago.
According to the Austrian, the Mercedes driver then still felt like ‘a deer in the headlights’. That his first season therefore had its ups and downs was expected according to Wolff. “I remember that Spa (2025, ed.) was terrible for him and that he felt down,” the team boss tells the media. “Monza was the moment when I first said to him: ‘Listen, you have to wake up now.’ But I never doubted him. That’s why we gave him the chance.”
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After the winter break, however, a very different Kimi Antonelli was at the start of the 2026 season. “He came back after the winter and immediately took off like a rocket, in a way no one had seen coming,” Wolff continues. “His talent, how he processed the past year. He has been at all the races. He has experienced the pressure from the media, the attention he gets. It’s as if the system has processed and stored everything. And that’s why he achieved the results we have seen since.”
‘He is just like an AI system’
The Mercedes team boss then makes a striking comparison for his young driver. “It remains surprising and amazing to see how quickly he develops,” says Wolff. “For me, he is just like an AI system that constantly improves and learns itself. It goes that fast. His age is certainly an advantage as well. The ability to become cognitively and intellectually better all the time.”
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