Toto Wolff admits flat-out Kimi Antonelli is giving Mercedes grey hairs

There seems to be no slowing down Kimi Antonelli, whether his Mercedes pit wall likes it or not.

During the race in Madrid, race engineer Pete Bonnington had to channel his inner schoolteacher, relentlessly reminding the 20-year-old Italian to respect track limits. Having capitalised on an earlier virtual safety car at the Madring circuit—where overtaking proved virtually impossible—Antonelli merely needed to keep proceedings clean out front while Max Verstappen and Lando Norris followed him home.

Instead, the young Italian kept the garage on edge. Earlier in the grand prix, Antonelli radioed in to check the car after reporting strange steering feedback, despite not making contact. But with five laps remaining, he brushed the concrete barrier on the entry to Turn 7, shouting over the team radio: “I touched the wall on the entry to Turn 7.”

Wolff: ‘He Is Causing Us Grey Hair’

Antonelli’s habit of flirting with track boundaries echoed his performance at Monza, causing clear unease for his father Marco and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

“I just discussed it with his father and we were joking: ‘What an idiot!’. No, that’s just Kimi,” Wolff explained after Antonelli secured victory. “The white lines, we had to drum it into his head that he shouldn’t go over the white lines. Even in Monza, he still went over the white lines and [risked] the car. And the same with track limits.

“At a certain stage, I said to him: ‘Don’t you see out of the car? Do we need to sit you that high up so that you [avoid] those track limit things?’ We had a laugh about it. And today, six laps to the end or whatever it was, he says: ‘Check the car, I just brushed the wall.’ What?! He’s causing us grey hair. But maybe he’s like this and maybe that’s what’s making him so quick.”

Wolff added that Antonelli “had to hit the wall again because he wants to go fast. Sometimes for me, he’s an inch too cool.”

Championship Focus and Support System

Despite being the youngest driver to find himself in contention for a maiden world championship, Wolff insists the Italian is not distracted by the title fight, noting Antonelli's ability to compartmentalise and act as a mature racing driver.

Antonelli, who continues to build on the lessons from his debut season in 2025, credits his close circle with keeping him grounded ahead of upcoming rounds in Imola and Abu Dhabi.

“I’m lucky to have really good people around me,” Antonelli said. “Especially my dad is the one who keeps me on the ground. When he sees that I might lose a little bit the way, he doesn’t [hesitate] to tell me off. On my side, I just try to do my best every race, trying to really drive as fast as I can whenever I go in the car.”