Toto Wolff defends Antonelli after Mercedes endures a tough week in Austria

Mercedes’ principal, Toto Wolff, came out in open and defended the young Kimi Antonelli after the first lap antics at the Austrian Grand Prix. The Italian youngster encountered a chaotic situation on the first lap of the game where he collided in the iconic third corner of the Red Bull Ring. The Italian found himself in a precarious position after he miscalculated the braking zone to avoid a collision with Liam Lawson. However, the player could not avoid the collision and ended up damaging Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen. While Verstappen showed great resilience to finish sixth, Antonelli and Lawson’s race came to a premature end.

Speaking to the media, Wolff mentioned that Antonelli could not have done anything. He also mentioned that the rear blocked the car, which would reduce his hearing or reading any data that would come through as the player would have concentrated on the race.

The rears blocked on the car. I’m not entirely sure it was his [Antonelli’s] fault or a system. I haven’t seen any data or heard anything, because obviously we were concentrating on the race. But that happens, you know

He also said that it was unfortunate for Max Verstappen and Red Bull that the player had hit him, but this is part and parcel of racing. He also called out that this could have happened to the experienced individual as well. Wolff said:

It’s unfortunate for Max and Red Bull that Kimi hit him, but it’s racing

It’s a shame that Max… that we took another car out with us, but that can happen to the great ones, to the inexperienced ones, to the experienced ones – it’s just part of F1. 

How did Wolff react to Mercedes' position after the race?

Wolff highlighted that they were a minute behind the leaders, noting that the collision wasn’t factored into that gap. He also mentioned that the team will be conducting experiments to improve car setup, positioning, and overall balance - acknowledging that they got it wrong during the Austrian Grand Prix.

“This year we’re a minute behind the leaders, so that is clearly out of the ordinary what happened today. We do experiment at the moment a little bit, how to position, how to put the car on track, where we put the balance, and clearly this one we got wrong – and we know that.