Toto Wolff praises Kimi Antonelli's rookie F1 season after being "thrown to the cannibals"

Mercedes Formula 1 team principal and CEO Toto Wolff has assessed Andrea Kimi Antonelli's rookie season in the championship, claiming that the Italian driver learned how to handle the "cannibals".

Antonelli joined the Brackley outfit ahead of the 2025 season, replacing seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton as the Briton moved to Ferrari. 

The 19-year-old driver started his rookie season off strongly with a fourth-place finish at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. He also secured his first sprint race pole position and his first grand prix podium with a third-place at the Canadian Grand Prix. 

But with the highs came some lows for Antonelli as he dealt with the intense pressure of driving for a top team like Mercedes.

"Last year when we announced that he would drive the car, I said that we're going to have ups and downs, moments of brilliance and then other moments where you want to tear your hair out," Wolff explained during a Mercedes debrief video.

"Because of the, you call them learnings, but because of the mistakes, that's what it is. And I think we have seen exactly that. We've seen very strong races at the beginning of the season, particularly towards the end. But I think we never doubted in the speed, the talent and his ability.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

"It's just you're being thrown to the cannibals in Formula 1. The intense pressure of the media, the responsibility you have to Mercedes - to the many people that are giving their all to provide you an engine and a car.

"And I think probably that was the learning, throughout the middle of the season, particularly in Europe, with everybody wanting something from you. And he's a good person. So he didn't want to say no either.

"And overall, I would say a good season, full of learning, a strong base to move from here and start in 2026 with a new car, new to everyone. And you know what to expect."

Antonelli ended the season seventh in the drivers' standings with 150 points and contributed to a P2 finish for Mercedes in the constructors' championship.