Kimi Antonelli delivered the best result of his young Grand Prix career with second place at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, earning strong praise from Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff after the rookie fended off title-chasing Max Verstappen in the closing stages.
Antonelli crossed the line behind winner Lando Norris at Interlagos, marking a return to form after a difficult European portion of the season. Wolff said the Italian had been strong all weekend. “I think all weekend it was strong, from the get-go. It’s good to see. Maybe it was coming to a track that he didn’t know. It’s a bit easier. Expectations. Expectations are maybe lower. Maybe pressure is not as high as some of the [European races], and then the execution was faultless at the end. You know, being able to fend off, fight off Max on the newer, fresher tyre, that was really strong and a testament as to what is to come.”
On why Antonelli has looked better outside Europe, Wolff called it part of a development curve. “Next year he will come to these tracks that he knows without expecting to kill it. And that’s the learning year, the year that we always expected to come with all the ups and downs. Today is an up, definitely. A good moment. There will be more difficult ones. Let’s see the next three races. I think we’re seeing the young boy becoming the young man and performing.”
With Antonelli second and George Russell fourth, Mercedes moved closer to securing second in the Teams’ Standings. Red Bull sit 32 points behind and Ferrari 36, although Wolff urged caution. “You can see how quickly it goes. You have a weekend where you have a double DNF like [Ferrari] had and the other teams scoring strong enough points. The 30-point swing, you can have it in the other direction too in any of the three races. So, we just need to keep both feet on the ground, hopefully consolidate the gap and just take it day by day, weekend by weekend.”
Wolff also praised Russell’s defensive work, noting how entertaining and proper Formula 1 battles are when drivers fight for positions across the grid. “I’m really proud of the job both of them did. Kimi’s P2 is obviously a shining light here, but George defending from Piastri in exactly the same way is something I enjoyed witnessing.”
Energy management played a key role in Mercedes’ result, Wolff added. Engineers, engine specialists and drivers optimized energy harvesting and deployment to use maximum power on the main straight while saving energy elsewhere, a strategy that helped preserve position in the closing laps.