Kimi Antonelli showing "traits" to become F1 great - Toto Wolff

The 19-year-old has dominated the 2026 F1 campaign and starts on pole for Sunday's British GP

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reckons his star youngster Kimi Antonelli is displaying all the "traits" to become an all-time Formula 1 great after clinching pole for the British Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by almost two tenths for his fifth pole of 2026, on the same day that Antonelli overtook Lewis Hamilton to win the Silverstone sprint race.

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Antonelli’s pole is even more impressive considering that for the final runs in Q3 he was sent out on track first, prompting an angry response from him, but something he still overcame.

So it is the latest installment in the sophomore’s domination of the current campaign as five wins in eight leaves him top of the championship and 43 points ahead of team-mate George Russell in second.

“He hasn’t won the world championship yet, so we always need to consider the big picture because he’s being compared to the great ones,” Wolff told Sky Sports.

“I think he has all the traits to be a great one, but you need to lock in the results and yeah, he doesn’t show any weaknesses.

“He was a little bit on the back foot, no problem, as any driver, you don’t like to be sent out first. He made that comment in the pitlane and then parked it. It’s compartmentalised. It doesn’t play any role in his ability to drive fast.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

If Antonelli becomes world champion in 2026 then he will be the youngest to ever do so, breaking the current record held by Sebastian Vettel who was 23 years and 134 days when he won in 2010.

So the Italian’s form is certainly impressive and even more so when one considers the jump he has made from 2025, the year he endured an extremely up-and-down rookie campaign.

There were times when the Mercedes driver made key mistakes, allowed the pressures of his home races get to him, and scored just two points finishes across the middle nine grands prix.

Antonelli eventually finished seventh in the championship and 169 points behind the impressively consistent Russell, who was the heavy pre-season favourite for the 2026 title.

Wolff added: “It’s a pleasure to watch. You can see the delta time getting faster and faster and faster and no mistakes. I’d say he’s really performing considering it’s only his second year. He’s performing on such a high level.

“He had a really bad run last year and George was operating very well. But I think he’s probably victim to the pressure, to the new environment that comes upon you - he was just 18.

“In that way, it’s remarkable how he came out of the blocks at the beginning of this year. It’s almost like, experienced, mature, but he’s just 19.”