Toto Wolff: Kimi is a diamond that needs to be cut.

      The achievements of 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli this season are truly impressive, as after the first four races he leads the individual standings, and he already has three consecutive victories. Toto Wolff, the head of the Mercedes team, does not hide in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport that he is happy for his protégé, but at the same time worries about him...

      Question: After the Miami Grand Prix, it became clear that there are very high expectations for Kimi. What worries you the most in this regard? Toto Wolff: Kimi is doing exceptionally well at the start of this season. This is only his second year in Formula 1, and he has already won three races in a row. He deserves high recognition, but at the same time, we must maintain the right balance. Stability is the foundation of F1, not just some individual successes, and Kimi needs to be given the opportunity to grow and write his own story, but without experiencing excessive pressure.

      Question: What do you think will happen when he starts making his first mistakes on the track? Toto Wolff: That is exactly what scares me. Kimi is very young, he has a special charisma, he is already becoming a star, but after a great start, some unpleasant things can happen, and I don’t want the public to start asking questions like, “Oh, what’s happening? Were we wrong about him?”

      Mistakes are part of the growth process, and our team is ready for that, but we are a bit scared of the public's reaction, especially in Italy. We all want Kimi to become one of the best drivers in Formula 1, but for now, he is only at the very beginning of his journey, and we must treat him like a diamond that needs to be polished.

      Question: How do you help him stay grounded? Toto Wolff: We have a long way to go with Kimi, and in our wonderful team, people at all levels work to create conditions for him to showcase his best qualities, to feel that he is protected and can remain himself.

      In this regard, his parents help us a lot because they raised Kimi well, instilling the right values in him, and they continue to do so now.

      Question: So, it’s not just that you noticed this fast guy when he was still karting… Toto Wolff: No, not just – and it’s important to emphasize this. Now everyone talks about Kimi’s talent, about how we discovered him very early, and I hear statements like, “Ferrari should have found him earlier when he was very young.” But that’s not true, because the real value of the Mercedes youth program is that we managed to create the right environment in which Antonelli could grow. We provided him with the best tools and supported him in difficult situations.

      Talent is just the starting point, and real work has been done over these eight years of our collaboration. A great future awaits him.

      Question: Can we say that Antonelli surprised everyone at the start of this season? Toto Wolff: Yes, absolutely. Last year I often repeated: we took an 18-year-old driver into the team, and there will be moments of success associated with him, but there will also be other situations where we will worry about his mistakes. But this is a necessary process that will allow him to get to know our team.

      It helps that we have now switched to new generation cars, and all drivers are still mastering them. I expected him to start the season well, but I must admit: we didn’t expect three consecutive victories.

      Question: What do you think about George Russell's performance at the start of the season? Toto Wolff: We love this sport because the stopwatch never lies at the finish line. Kimi rightfully won the last three Grands Prix, and that’s a fact. Russell did not perform well in these races, in some cases due to team issues or bad luck, but in Miami, he made mistakes himself. At the same time, we know George's capabilities, we know he will return to his usual level, and that will happen already in Canada.

      Question: But in Miami, we saw that McLaren is performing much more confidently thanks to the updated car. What do you expect from the Canadian stage of the championship? Toto Wolff: We have been working under the new regulations for a very short time, and the process of upgrading the technology is going very intensively. We expected that McLaren, having implemented a set of updates, would improve and go half a second faster.

      I must say that Red Bull surprised us a lot too, as they also made a huge leap forward. We will also bring a number of new developments to Canada, but I believe that overall, the balance of power will change from race to race this year, and that’s normal.