‘No immediate threat’ to Kimi Antonelli despite public Mercedes criticism

Kimi Antonelli’s seat looks to be safe for next season with “no immediate threat” to his position despite facing public criticism from Mercedes for the first time.

19-year-old Antonelli is enduring a torrid run of form during an up and down rookie season in F1, having finished ninth in a messy race at Monza in which he picked up a time penalty.

Antonelli received rare criticism from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who has previously been steadfast in his support of the teenager who was fast-tracked into the team as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton’s replacement.

Wolff described Antonelli’s display at the Italian Grand Prix as “underwhelming”, with his change of tone raising questions over the Italian's future with Mercedes.

Despite Antonelli’s shaky performances, he is expected to be retained alongside George Russell for next season.

“Wolff's remarks were at least partly provoked by the fact that Monza was the second race weekend in a row on which Antonelli had crashed in Friday practice and disrupted his preparations,” BBC Sport F1 correspondent Andrew Benson wrote in a Q&A.

“The 19-year-old's season started well. He steadily built his confidence in the car, and that led to his outstanding qualifying performances in Miami, where he took pole for the sprint race and out-qualified George Russell for the grand prix as well. He took a maiden podium in Canada, where Russell won.

“But a change to the Mercedes rear suspension that made the car more nervous knocked his confidence, and his form has not really recovered since the team reverted to their previous design from Hungary.

“It's worth pointing out, though, that since Canada, Russell has been on the podium only once.

“There is no immediate threat to Antonelli's position - he will be a Mercedes driver next year. But he certainly needs to settle down and steadily build again.”

Nico Rosberg questions Toto Wolff’s motive

Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was left surprised by Wolff’s change of course on Antonelli.

"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,” 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.”

Antonelli is eighth in the drivers’ championship after 16 out of 24 races this year, 128 points behind fourth-placed Russell.