Kimi Antonelli’s F1 Miami victory a flashback for Toto Wolff

Antonelli’s Miami victory a flashback for Wolff (Wolff MGP Sun)

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has compared Kimi Antonelli's victory at the Miami Grand Prix to successes during his junior career, labelling the performance as 'faultless'.

Antonelli extended his lead at the top of the Formula 1 standings with a third successive grand prix victory, as he became the first driver in the championship's history to convert all three of his first poles to race wins in consecutive races.

Such was the Italian's prowess in the junior categories, that his journey to F1 was somewhat of a speed run through series, as he went from Italian F4 to the top tier in just four seasons - a period that saw him amass five titles and 36 race wins. 

Asked to rank his driver's latest success, Wolff said: “I know track limits are on the mistakes. It’s easier to calm someone down that is wild, because you won’t be able to accelerate a donkey. So for me, that was his best race so far, and it reminds me of his karting days or Formula 4. There were no mistakes.”

Mercedes accept element of fault for poor F1 starts

Despite his success, starts continue to be a problem for Antonelli, who fell back once more in Miami, forcing him to battle back to the front, with an undercut on Lando Norris eventually promoting him into the lead. 

Refusing to lay all of the blame for the issues at Antonelli's feet, Wolff explained: “It’s not at all on him. I think in the race and on Saturday, it was a team mistake. 

"We all know it’s just not good enough. We’re not doing a good enough job in giving them a tool in their hands - whether it’s clutch or grid - and we are the only ones who haven’t got that right now for a few races. 

"We just have to dig even deeper to try to understand how we can fix that, because I agree, the gaps are not big enough to cruise into the sunset, and therefore, you can’t be missing starts.”