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Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he can “kind of see the hype that is going to start now” around Kimi Antonelli, “especially in Italy”.
At the Chinese Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli reached an important career milestone by winning his first Formula 1 race.
However, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has proceeded to warn fans and observers against unrealistic “hype”.
“You can kind of see the hype that is going to start now, especially in Italy,” the Austrian said.
“I see already the headlines, ‘world champion’ or whatever. That’s really not good because those mistakes are going to come.
“He’s just a kid, so it’s too early to even think about a championship.”
While talking to Sky Sports F1, Toto added:
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“I think it’s maybe come earlier than I thought. Last year we said that it’s going to be a very difficult year with many ups and downs and mistakes.
“Then, bang, second race [Antonelli wins]. He has controlled it in the front, he has driven very well today, so he’s probably a little bit better than the trajectory I thought.”
Wolff also referred to a dicey situation in the closing laps of the race, when Antonelli locked up his front wheels.
“I said to Bono [Antonelli’s race engineer Peter Bonnington – Bono]: ‘Come on, let’s tell him to calm down… we don’t want him to lose this race!’
“We are going to have other moments this year where there will be mistakes, because he’s still just a very young man,” he concluded.
