Rookie mistakes won’t derail Antonelli’s future - Wolff

Toto Wolff has made it clear Mercedes will stick with George Russell and teenager Kimi Antonelli into Formula 1’s next rules era.

With Max Verstappen now committed to Red Bull beyond 2025, Wolff confirmed his own team’s continuity plan.

“The team’s driver lineup for the 2026 season will certainly be confirmed as it is,” he told Sky Deutschland after Zandvoort. “I don’t see any reason not to continue working with either of the drivers. George is doing much better than the car allows in most grands prix. Antonelli just needs to get his confidence back. But he definitely has the speed, so it’ll be fine.”

Antonelli, 19, had another bruising weekend. He triggered a clash that ended Charles Leclerc’s race, copped a 10-second penalty, and then picked up another five seconds for pitlane speeding.

But Wolff – the rookie’s mentor as well as team boss – again shrugged off the errors. “We want a fast driver who learns and scores points, but all good drivers make mistakes,” the Austrian said.

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes the stance is the right one. “That’s how it should be,” he told Sky Deutschland. “When you give a young man such an opportunity, and he’s rushed through all these junior classes, then when he gets up here, he needs time. His speed was definitely there, but he still needs to work on it. I think it’s great that they’re supporting him.”

Antonelli, for his part, did not try to excuse the Leclerc clash. “That was definitely my fault,” he admitted. “I caused it, there’s no sugarcoating it. It’s not a nice feeling to knock an opponent out of the race.”

Asked if Antonelli’s early career resembles Verstappen’s turbulent start, Wolff was careful. “It’s hard to compare with Max because Max was in a different environment at Toro Rosso,” he said. “Kimi is 19 years old, in a giant team like Mercedes. He will make mistakes.

"Hopefully next year there will be fewer of them and more points, but I believe in him 100% in the long term. This is just part of the learning curve.”