Surprise at ‘calculated’ Toto Wolff’s change of tone on Kimi Antonelli

Toto Wolff’s change of tone and public criticism of Kimi Antonelli has surprised his former driver Nico Rosberg.

Following an incident-filled Dutch Grand Prix, Antonelli had another difficult weekend on home soil at Monza as he fell from sixth on the grid to eighth on the road, before a five-second penalty for forcing Alex Albon off-track dropped him to ninth in the final classification.

Wolff has been steadfast in his support of Antonelli but the Italian Grand Prix marked a notable change in approach as he described the recently-turned 19-year-old’s display as “underwhelming”.

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"It's a surprising one, because at the moment, the only choice you really have is to just give Kimi the most time possible in the most calm way possible, and that means also not criticising him publicly,” 2016 world champion Rosberg told The F1 Show.

"And so this change of tone from Toto for the first time ever… usually there's a reason behind it. Toto is very calculated in his comments. Perhaps he's wanting to put some pressure on Kimi and his family to try a different approach, modify their approach, review their approach.

"But the fact of the matter is, Kimi is a generational talent, we all know that, but it's more difficult for him than we all thought so far. And it's a bit strange that it's still so difficult.

"If you look at the statistics in racing, its 19-0 to George, and in qualifying it's 17-2 to George, and if you put in mistakes, it would be like 15-1, probably.

"It's a really hard one, an unfortunate one, because we all want him to go well, he can go well, we know that. But the clock starts to tick at some point also, it's a tough one.”

Why hasn’t Kimi Antonelli been confirmed yet?

Wolff has indicated that Mercedes will continue with George Russell and Antonelli next year but the deals have yet to be finalised and confirmed.

Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft questioned why Mercedes have not yet announced Antonelli for 2026.

“I wonder if maybe because of his age, or the person that Kimi is, he does dwell on the negatives a bit more than other drivers, and some of his other peers would,” Croft said.

"If that is the case, maybe what he actually needs is a bit of an arm around his shoulder and a confidence boost from the team, that says, 'You are definitely our driver for next year, don't worry. This is a rookie year, we believe in you and we’re going to publicly state that now'.

“What are Mercedes waiting for? What’s their option? Their reserve driver is off to Cadillac. So who would they get in if it wasn’t Kimi Antonelli? I don’t think they want to bring anyone else in to replace Kimi Antonelli, so just give him some public backing and see if that makes a difference.

“It might help him get rid of some of the negativity that some of his recent performances have been building up. That’s just a suggestion. But I think he needs a bit of help and a reason to smile at the moment.”

Rosberg agreed with Croft, adding: "I said that a couple of weeks or months ago even, give him the contract, because you need to give him whatever you can at the moment, just to help him with his confidence.

"Anyway, in F1, you know that worst, worst case, you can still get out of that then during the winter. Obviously you don't have to say that now, but I would also consider that."