Toto Wolff says crash for Andrea Kimi Antonelli on Mercedes debut has 'zero' impact on Lewis Hamilton replacement decision (2024)

Toto Wolff says Andrea Kimi Antonelli's crash on his Mercedes debut in Italian Grand Prix practice will have "zero" impact on who the team decide to replace Lewis Hamilton with next season.

The 18-year-old Italian's first F1 session came to an abrupt and early end as he lost control of the W15 at Parabolica during Practice One and shunted into the barrier.

Mercedes are expected to confirm Antonelli at some point during the weekend as George Russell's team-mate for 2025, with Hamilton leaving to join Ferrari.

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Asked in a press conference following the session if the crash would impact his decision, Mercedes team principal Wolff said: "No, zero effect.

"I think most important is to hire based on ability. An FP1 that's gone wrong is not the reason why you decide for or against a driver."

Wolff described Antonelli's pace during his brief time on track as "astonishing". He momentarily topped the timesheet after his first lap, then set the fastest middle sector at the time on his second lap just before the crash.

Asked by Sky Sports F1 if the incident had shown it was "too soon" for Antonelli, Wolff replied: "Definitely not.

"It's great. He's a pleasure to watch. You can see the raw speed that he has. Going out there, blasting first lap, second lap. I think the speeds that he had in the Lesmo and Ascari were not matched any more in the session."

"I'd rather slow somebody down and calm him down than the other way around to make somebody quicker because the second one is not possible. So that's part of the learning curve."

'Lesson learned!' - Antonelli sorry after crash

Antonelli had been scheduled to address the media after second practice but his appearance was cancelled, with Mercedes instead sharing a recorded message from the driver.

He swiftly returned to action in F2 qualifying after the crash, eventually finishing sixth having topped the timesheet up until the closing moments of the session.

He said: "What a day. First FP1 done. Unfortunately, it ended quite quickly because of the crash. It was quite a big one, around 52gs.

"I'm really sorry to the team and George for making them work afterwards. Just a mistake by my side. Just pushing a bit too much for the conditions.

"I should have built the run a bit more progressively. But definitely lesson learned for next time.

"I'm still really thankful to the team for making this possible and still great to see all the tifosi out there, and to get the first laps with all the drivers on track.

"I'm not feeling super well at the moment. Just going to go back and try to rest and try to focus for the rest of the weekend because there's still some racing to go and we're going to still try to get a good result."

No plans to bring forward Antonelli's next F1 outing

Mercedes have been attempting to prefer Antonelli for the step up from Formula 2 with a programme including the testing of the team's old cars and appearances in F1 practice sessions.

The general expectation was that Antonelli would also appear in Mexico and Abu Dhabi, and Wolff rejected a suggestion that the teenager's return to action could be brought forward in order to give him a chance to get over his Monza crash.

Wolff said: "No, I think a strong driver needs to recover from these things and cope with the pressure.

"Obviously, this week it wasn't easy for him. He still needs to compete in F2. You have all these shenanigans around you in Monza, Italian kid that's been hyped, first time in a Mercedes - and that must be a heavy burden.

"But if he wants to be a champion one day, he needs to cope with that. And I have no doubt that he can and he will."

Wolff said that he did not feel any guilty for over-hyping Antonelli, but admitted that the Italian would be feeling "terrible" after the incident.

"I think the circ*mstances are guilty," Wolff said. "In our industry we perfectly understand who is capable and not.

"How it's all panned out, he's jumped F3, he's pretty much won everything before… and then it's clear you start to become a Mercedes driver, you test in FP1, at the same time you're under the magnifying glass because it all happens in Monza and it has been a while since an Italian driver was in a top team.

"So I'm sure that this can be a lot for an 18-year-old. But I said before that he needs to swim and to take these days that are so difficult, like it is for him at the moment - it feels certainly terrible - and that's part of the development curve."

Brundle: Antonelli's confidence will be damaged

Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle said Antonelli's confidence would be "damaged" by the incident.

"It was the last thing he or the team needed," Brundle said. "They haven't got any data, the car's damaged, his confidence will be damaged.

"Mercedes want to present him as the star of the future. He pushed very, very hard early on. He'd just gone purple in the second sector, fractionally ahead of Lewis, and he was expecting too much, too soon.

"Obviously got in and there was not enough grip for the speed that he was carrying.

"It's such a shame. I admire his confidence but he needed to play himself in somewhat more carefully than that."

Speaking before Antonelli returned to action in F2 Qualifying later on Friday, Brundle said the youngster's response to the incident would be telling.

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"If he's, as we're told, sort of (Michael) Schumacher, (Ayrton) Senna, Max Verstappen level, it will just bounce off," he said.

"I'll never forget watching Michael Schumacher smash up Nelson Piquet's Benetton, and we were like, 'right, now we'll see how good Michael Schumacher is.' He got back in his own one and his next lap was the fastest of anybody, because he had that supreme inner confidence to go with his talent.

"We'll find out whether young Antonelli is the same."

Sky Sports F1's live Italian GP schedule

Saturday August 31
8.25am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Italian GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Italian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: ITALIAN GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday September 1
7:30am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
11am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up
2pm: The ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP reaction
5pm: Ted's Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

The 2024 Formula 1 season continues with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime