- Wolff wants to ‘protect’ Antonelli from championship talk.
- Antonell believes it’s way too early to think about the championship
- Remains to be seen what shape season takes in next 19 rounds for Antonelli.
Kimi Antonelli’s back-to-back winning streak has drawn discussions surrounding him potentially becoming a very young champion in F1 history. While Toto Wolff is immensely proud of both his drivers giving impressive performances, he doesn’t intend for people to include Antonelli in title talks this early.
In the Chinese GP, Antonelli became the first-ever youngest pole-sitter and then went on to become the second youngest teenager after Max Verstappen to win a grand prix. While his win did make its way to the history books, it was also a significant moment for his career, as it was his maiden win.
As the season headed to Japan, Antonelli snatched the championship lead from Russell, as he won the race. He initially dropped down positions in Turn 1 as Oscar Piastri took the lead, but the safety car reset turned the tables for him. Meanwhile, his teammate, George Russell, ended up coming 4th.
Wolff issues warning around Antonelli’s championship discussion
In a conversation with Sky Sports, Wolff reflected on the times when Antonelli was scouted by a manager and was given the opportunity to be a part of the team. He said, “From Gwen [Lagrue], who runs our junior programme and who spotted him when he was 11, to the whole team, the engineers that gave him the opportunity.”
He’s aware that the marketing team has protected him from the start, but now they also need to be careful about the discussions around his championship.
Expressing his immense pride for both his drivers, he added, “We need to protect him [Antonelli] from people talking about world championships – all of us, it’s a joint effort to have two of our junior drivers in the lead of this championship.”
This is not the first time Wolff has expressed his concerns about the title fight, including Antonelli. He had earlier stated during the Chinese Grand Prix that such talk doesn’t serve any good to a young driver to improve.
He strongly believes that it’s necessary to keep feet on the ground and not get carried away by the ongoing chatter. While he acknowledged that Antonelli is a talented driver, he believes there’s still a long way to go to become a champion.
Antonelli shares similar thoughts to Wolff
Following his win in Japan, Antonelli shared his thoughts on now officially being a part of the championship, currently leading with 7 points over his teammate, Russell. “It feels pretty good. Of course, it’s still early days to think about the Championship, but we’re in a good way,” he said, a sentiment similar to Wolff, who also believes it’s too early to count him in such talks.
He further reflected on how he bottled the start, but the appearance of a safety car helped him effectively restore his lead. He also felt very confident with the car. With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia removed from the F1 calendar and three races already completed, 19 races are still to go.
It will ultimately decide whether Kimi Antonelli makes history by clinching the title in just his second season against an experienced grid, or has to wait for seasons to come to lift the trophy.
