Toto Wolff reveals what Kimi Antonelli told him before the US Grand Prix

On the outside, it looked like all the pressure in the world would be on Kimi Antonelli’s shoulders ahead of the United States Grand Prix as he could have won the F1 title.

However, it has come to light that before the race, the Italian driver was not worried about the title at all and was ‘going to enjoy’ the race.

In the end, Antonelli drove like a driver with no pressure, as he dominated proceedings in the United States Grand Prix, and won by a massive margin of 13 seconds.

When speaking to Sky Sports immediately after Antonelli’s win at the Circuit of the Americas, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff revealed what the Italian told him before the race.

Wolff said, "What a boy, you know? I was just saying before I got the question of whether he was nervous before the race. 

“And I said, he snuck into my office before getting ready and said, 'I'm going to enjoy this right now. And it's weird, I'm not thinking about the championship at all'. Isn't that funny? 

“So he's on a discovery mission there also, in terms of what's happening to him emotionally. And then, you know, he just delivered from the beginning to the end. It was exceptional at any time."

Despite the pace issues for George Russell, who finished the race in eighth, Wolff praised the Mercedes strategy team as they predicted that the one-stop strategy would be the fastest.

“The strategy team has really done a good job today,” Wolff stated. 

“We discussed it, you know, that Max could undercut us, and we stayed firm with the decision, saying the one-stop looks like the fastest strategy. 

“Norris on the hards looked very good. So, we stayed solid, and in the end, it came out pretty much as it happened. In theory, it was 8 seconds quicker, and at the end, it was a little bit more.”

Antonelli heads to the Mexico City Grand Prix next weekend with one hand on the title, as he looks set to claim his first crown in Formula 1.