Toto Wolff hails Kimi Antonelli's "spectacular" Miami qualifying performance

Toto Wolff praised Kimi Antonelli’s “special” Miami Grand Prix pole lap while defending Mercedes’ long-term support of the 19-year-old driver

Mercedes Formula 1 team principal and CEO Toto Wolff has praised Kimi Antonelli's pole-winning lap ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

The Italian driver, who took the lead of the drivers' standings after back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix, claimed pole position for the race at the Hard Rock Stadium after holding off four-time champion Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in qualifying.

"That first lap was really special because, as you see, he was three or more tenths ahead of the next guy. Spectacular, and that made the pole, but then it was a Kimi," Wolff told Sky Sports F1. "We are having confidence, and then we are overpushing it but that's how he is.

"It's already an improvement because in the past it would end up in the wall. Now it's just a missed lap, but he's just showing his speed and that's really, really nice to see."

Mercedes had come under scrutiny for signing Antonelli when Lewis Hamilton left the team for Ferrari, but Wolff has backed the team's support of the 19-year-old driver from a young age.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

"You can look like a fool, or you can look well," he added. "The junior programme is quite diligent and if you look at his junior trajectory from mini karts all the way to F2, you see the pace and the speed.

"Then it just needs the development and we have given him that last year to make mistakes. And there's more to come, but he has good speed character traits."

As Antonelli claimed his third consecutive grand prix pole position, his team-mate George Russell struggled on the smooth track surface.

"George said to me he's struggled with certain tracks. Here, the asphalt is very smooth," Wolff added, after the Briton qualified in fifth for the Miami Grand Prix.

"It's almost like a [tennis] player that is good on clay, and another on a hard surface.

"Through qualifying, he made it up and it's just a smidge missing to P3, so I'm really happy to see his development over qualifying on a track he's not 100% comfortable."