Even Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is amazed by Kimi Antonelli’s performance in Monaco—at the same time, he offers his support to the luckless George Russell
Kimi Antonelli has made another strong statement in the Formula 1 title race at the Monaco Grand Prix. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was particularly impressed by his protégé’s speed in the race.
Before the safety car was deployed following Lance Stroll’s accident, Antonelli had already built up a lead of around 30 seconds on the iconic street circuit.
“We were surprised by that pace ourselves,” Wolff admits. “The lap times he set were two seconds ahead of the McLarens and well over a second ahead of Ferrari. And lap after lap, like clockwork.”
“I don’t know why that was possible on a track that we wouldn’t have considered our strength going into the weekend.” Before the weekend, Mercedes had expected to face intense pressure, particularly from Ferrari, on the narrow streets of Monaco. Yet the competition failed to seriously threaten Antonelli in either qualifying or the race.
The Mercedes driver not only won his fifth consecutive race but also secured his first Grand Slam of his career. Starting from pole position, the Italian led every single lap and also set the fastest lap of the race.
In the drivers’ standings, he extended his lead to 66 points. At the same time, he set a new record: At 19 years, nine months, and 13 days, Antonelli is now the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to achieve a Grand Slam. He beat the previous record held by Max Verstappen by nearly four years.
Qualifying lap causes a stir
While his driver’s dominance in the race came as a surprise to Wolff, his strong form had already been hinted at in qualifying. There, Antonelli secured his fourth pole position in Formula 1—a particularly impressive achievement in Monaco.
“Here, even more than on many other tracks, you have to be completely at one with the car and absolutely in the flow,” says the Mercedes team boss, adding: “That’s why it’s so difficult for George: if you lose that confidence, it’s very hard to be fast here.”
“With Kimi, we already saw in Q2 that he was very strong. When we then went into the final qualifying segment, I thought: This is going to be impossible.“ The laps by Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, in particular, had made an impression.
”When I saw Charles Leclerc fly through the swimming pool section, it was the fastest I’ve ever seen a car go there—at the absolute limit and sideways. And then Max Verstappen actually topped that,“ Wolff marveled.
We were tracking the lap, we had the live GPS data, and it looked like he wasn’t going to make it. But then he suddenly made the difference in the last two corners, took pole position, and when we later watched the onboard footage, it was just incredible. That lap was incredible.”
Russell falls behind
With his victory in Monaco, Antonelli solidified his position at the top of the World Championship. His lead over teammate George Russell is now as much as 68 points.
Yet before the season began, Russell was considered the likely strongest internal challenger in the title race. In recent weeks, however, the Brit has been plagued by bad luck on several occasions. In Monaco, he was set back by a drive-through penalty after his team failed to serve a previously imposed penalty properly.
Despite the now significant gap, Wolff continues to believe in Russell’s qualities. “Sometimes luck is on your side, sometimes it isn’t,” says the Mercedes team principal. “It has nothing to do with suddenly not being able to drive anymore. It’s about having a car you feel comfortable with and trust, so you can be fast. That’s the reality.”
Wolff also emphasizes that the fluctuations in performance are not due to driving shortcomings. “Formula 1 is about physics, not mysticism.”
“You don’t suddenly forget how to drive, and you don’t become a miracle driver overnight. I’m not worried about his performance at all, because we know he’s one of the best,” he says, backing Russell.
