Wolff: Doubters Didn’t Stop Antonelli’s Monaco surge

so many – Toto Wolff says Kimi Antonelli’s confidence comes from surviving a bruising rookie season, including a nine-race points drought, and learning to stay resilient under pressure. After Monaco qualifying brought Antonelli pole, Wolff points to the plan Mercedes st

For Kimi Antonelli, Monaco didn’t just deliver pole—it arrived like a message from his own momentum to anyone still counting him out.

Toto Wolff watched it unfold after Antonelli surged to the top in Monaco qualifying and was then asked why the teenager seems to drive with a confidence that looks almost effortless. Wolff’s answer went straight back to how young age can change everything: “I think from that perspective. the young age is maybe easier.”.

He said Antonelli doesn’t have the same mental weight that older drivers carry because he “doesn’t think a lot about it.” Antonelli “has not a lot to lose,” Wolff added, because he “never expected himself to be in this position, that he’s leading a championship.”

Wolff pointed to Antonelli’s own mindset. repeating the line he used in the past: “Like he said. ‘I don’t know how it is. I’ve got nothing to lose’.” In Wolff’s telling. the confidence isn’t mystery—it’s instinct plus learning. “I think it’s trusting his instinct. letting it fly. and the tough learnings from last year with the mistakes that happened. ” Wolff said. describing what built the edge: “a spell of nine races without a point. ” and the way those setbacks forced progress.

The story of Antonelli’s rise is also a story of what Mercedes chose to do when the results turned ugly in 2025. Wolff said the “support” never disappeared while Antonelli had to learn to fight through the low moments. “alone with the support of your team and family. ” and that surviving them makes a driver “much stronger.”.

“We had so many doubters last year after those bad races saying we shouldn’t have put him in the Mercedes,” Wolff said. “I think that some of our competitor teams would have taken him out and either put him in a junior team or in a satellite team.”

Instead, Mercedes “stuck to the project.” Wolff described the plan as a kind of controlled pressure: “year one is going to have highlights, moments of brilliance and then moments where it’s going to be very difficult, but we stick to the plan.”

And it wasn’t pressure for pressure’s sake. Wolff said they “gave him the necessary pressure but also a bit of an easiness about things. ” aiming to let the difficult stretches stay survivable. The result. he implied without overstating it. is now visible: Antonelli has gone “from strength to strength” in his sophomore campaign.

The season context makes the scale clear. After stepping up to Formula 1 with the Silver Arrows in 2025. Antonelli had “mixed fortunes” in his first campaign. starting well before a tough spell across the European leg. Yet he ended that season on a better note. and since then has become the sport’s youngest-ever championship leader. holding a current margin of 43 points over team mate George Russell.

Wolff also described how the pole moment itself was built. In a separate conversation with Sky Sports F1. he said Antonelli “built it up” in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. gaining momentum after a “solid” Q1. The contrast with Russell showed how quickly confidence can evaporate in a car that doesn’t feel right on street circuits.

Russell finished sixth and later admitted he was confused by his current issues. Wolff was asked whether momentum is shared between drivers like that—one moving ahead while the other struggles—and he leaned on the psychological side but didn’t let it become an excuse.

“We tend to look a lot on the psychological side,” Wolff said, before insisting Russell’s resilience is real: “George is very robust and resilient.” Wolff said there were races that went against him because “luck wasn’t on his side, or he wasn’t there at the right moment.”

For Monaco, Wolff’s explanation narrowed to the feel in the car. “Here. I don’t think it is so much on the psychological side – he just never had the confidence in the car.” He pointed to the session foundation: “Qualifying started on the back foot – FP3 was still very okay.” Once Russell had to chase performance and “lose the confidence. ” Wolff said. “it’s super difficult to catch up again.”.

In Monaco, the margin is cruel. Wolff said bluntly: “I think if it had been one session more, he would have been there or thereabouts.” But he also set the technical reality alongside the mental one: “He didn’t have any grip, and [in] Monaco no grip means you can’t push it.”

Sunday now brings the next test—turn-one traffic, close corners, and a front-row start that puts Antonelli in direct view of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the driver he shares the front row with.

Wolff’s smile, in his own way, carried the warning. “I hope we get it right with the clutch tomorrow. and Kimi needs to make himself wide like a tourist bus around Monaco!” he said. Then he added the stakes of the start: “Because if you lose the start or you’re not there. it’s going to be really difficult.”.

The doubts that once swarmed Mercedes about Antonelli didn’t vanish because people changed their minds. Wolff’s version of the truth is simpler: the project stayed. the learning stayed. and the confidence—built after the hardest stretches—finally became visible at the place where mistakes are punished immediately.

Kimi Antonelli Toto Wolff Monaco Grand Prix pole position Mercedes George Russell Max Verstappen Formula 1 2025 season championship leader