Mercedes’ Antonelli ‘patience’ questioned amid ‘waiting for Super Max’ speculation

Pinning his Italian colours to the mast, Leo Turrini says the pressure is not only on Kimi Antonelli ahead of his debut campaign but “also on Toto Wolff” and the questions that will be asked of him.

The most pertinent of which is, will he have patience with the teenage Italian or is he “waiting for Super Max to break free” from Red Bull?

The ‘pressure’ is on Kimi Antonelli, ‘but also on Toto Wolff’

Although Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff spent the better part of seven months publicly courting Max Verstappen last season, Mercedes announced at the Italian Grand Prix that Antonelli would replace Lewis Hamilton for the F1 2025 championship.

The 18-year-old Italian will partner George Russell in what is reportedly a one-year agreement with the option to extend.

It’s cause for celebration for respected Italian journalist Turrini, who feels a “lifetime has passed” since Italy last had a potential race-winner on the grid.

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“Let’s put it this way,” Turrini wrote in his blog. “Not since the days of [Giancarlo] Fisichella in Renault with Alonso, something from twenty years ago, has an Italian driver stepped into the cockpit of a potentially winning F1 car. A lifetime has passed.

“That’s why the newly come of age Kimi Antonelli, a true Emilian, on the grid aboard a Mercedes is more than news. It’s an event.

“In 2024, Mercedes won four races. Apart from the historical prestige, on paper it makes no sense to completely exclude it from the World Championship prediction.

“And therefore the pressure on the Italian boy is accentuated.”

But it’s not just Antonelli who is under pressure, the Italian saying questions will also be asked of Toto Wolff.

The Austrian revealed during Antonelli’s confirmation that he “made up my mind five minutes” after Hamilton informed him that he was leaving for Ferrari.

Wolff went on to say: “Obviously, we were discussing other options, and also didn’t discount the Max idea by looking at what happened at Red Bull. But, instinctively, this is the line-up with these two [Antonelli and George Russell] that I always wanted.”

Whether Wolff keeps faith with Italian after what could be a season of learning and the mistakes that come with that, is just one question that Turrini wants to know the answer to.

“Let me explain,” he continued. “Here you take a young man with zero Grand Prix behind him and put him in the place of an absolute legend. Lewis Hamilton.

“Is it madness? It’s a stroke of genius (how many GPs did Gilles have behind him when he was called by the Old Man in place of Lauda)? Every answer is obviously good.

“Now, I don’t have the tools to judge Antonelli. He skipped F3. He has limited experience in F2. On the other hand, I have collected very encouraging opinions about him from authoritative insiders.

“At this point, perhaps, the question needs to be corrected. Will Mercedes give Antonelli time to learn even if he makes mistakes?

“Because Verstappen became Verstappen being able to count on the patience of the entire Red Bull. There was a logic behind it and it was handsomely rewarded.

“Will Toto Wolff have the same patience as the Bibitari? Or is he just waiting for Super Max to break free? And what kind of partner will Russell be for an absolute beginner?

“Having said that, I repeat that I will cheer for this guy, as I have always done for the Italians behind the wheel… Of course, hoping to finish behind the two Ferraris, eh.”

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