Kimi Antonelli is Italian ‘superstar’ like Jannik Sinner, says Mercedes’ Toto Wolff

The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff**,** has praised the victory by his driver Kimi Antonelli at the Miami Grand Prix as his best yet and said that the 19-year-old’s astounding start to the season has put him in the same category as the Italian superstar tennis player and Wimbledon champion, Jannik Sinner.

Antonelli won in Florida after a tight battle with the McLaren of Lando Norris who chased him to the flag but could not get past. The victory is his third in a row and ensures the Italian now leads the world championship from his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, by 20 points, in only his second season in F1.

Wolff was relishing having such a young charger with so much potential in the Mercedes stable. “It seems like a lot of the speed has always been there, everything is chipping away at the finer details,” he said.

“It’s easier to slow someone, 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.

“It reminds me of his karting days or Formula 4, there were no mistakes today.”

Mercedes remain unbeaten in GPs this season with Russell winning the first round in Australia but it is Antonelli’s composure as he stepped up into a car that is leading the field that has stood out. His rookie season last year was marked with some unforced errors and occasions when he pushed too hard but the teenager has swiftly adapted as he finds himself as a realistic title contender, exceeding even Wolff’s expectations.

“I think that it’s astounding, these few races,” said Wolff. “In a way, its what we’ve predicted as a team that we would have ups and downs last season, moments of brilliance, moments where you want to tear your hair out and this year, it’s coming together.

“I don’t think that any of us would have expected this kind of run. We’ve given him a car that is very good, and an engine that is right but how he’s been able to monetise on that every single weekend is special.”

On each of the Sundays when Antonelli has won this season in China, Japan and Miami, Sinner has also won tournaments – in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid – in what has been something of a sporting bonanza for Italian fans and Wolff believes the pair now belong in the same bracket.

“The easier bit is making sure that he keeps both feet on the ground here in the team. His parents have played a big part in that, to leave him grounded. The bigger problem is the Italian public.

“Now that they are not qualified for football, it’s all about Sinner and Antonelli, and Antonelli and Sinner. Sinner won in Madrid, so it’s the two that are superstars.”