Toto Wolff reveals what he said to Kimi Antonelli after FP1 crash

Toto Wolff has shed light on the conversation he had with Andrea Kimi Antonelli following the Mercedes junior’s debut F1 practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

The 18-year-old, who is expected to be confirmed as Lewis Hamilton's replacement at Mercedes for 2025 imminently, suffered a high-speed crash less than 10 minutes into his first FP1 outing with the team.

On just his second flying lap, Antonelli spun off at Parabolica and slammed into the barriers. The Italian was uninjured in the incident which red-flagged the session.

Wolff said Mercedes would “rather have a problem in slowing” Antonelli down than needing to make him “faster”.

"Most important he is okay because the crash was 45G,” the Austrian told media including Crash.net at Monza.

“It’s unfortunate because we had an hour’s running and would have seen some good performances. But that’s what we all said; he’s a rookie, he’s very young.

“We’re investing in his future and these moments, they will happen. They will continue to happen next year.

“We’d rather have a problem in slowing him down than making him faster. What we saw from one and a half laps was astonishing.”

Asked what he had told Antonelli before the session, Wolff joked: “I said full push!

“I told him to enjoy it. I think he has a lot of natural ability and it’s important not to forget that this is the best job in the world and I said to him also to take the pressure off.

"We are in our own little bubble and nobody is interested in FP1 anyway. Whatever happens, happens and just get on with things. I told him the same after the session.”

Wolff said Antonelli apologised to the team when he returned to the garage.

“He apologised first of all,” Wolff said. “That’s what you need to do when you are bringing back a car that looks a little bit like a Lego box falling on the floor.

“But he also said he had confidence and the car was good. He was just bitten.

“Everyone was suffering with loss of temperature, especially rear temperature out of Ascari doing these kinds of speeds. And this is why the rear stepped out.”

Antonelli is set for another FP1 outing in Mexico and Wolff backed the youngster to bounce back quickly from his early setback.

“I think a strong driver needs to recover from these things and cope with the pressure,” Wolff said. 

“This weekend wasn’t easy for him, because he still needs to compete in F2.

“You have all this shenanigans around you in Monza, first time in a Mercedes and that must be a heavy burden.

“But if he wants to be a world champion one day he needs to cope with it. And I have no doubt that he can and he will.”

Wolff also confirmed the incident would have “zero effect” on the team’s 2025 driver decision.