P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Toto Wolff has pointed the finger at the cause of Kimi Antonelli’s difficult patch during his first season racing in F1.
According to Toto Wolff, the inconsistent performance of Mercedes’ car has contributed to Kimi Antonelli’s struggles in his rookie F1 season.
Wolff, the team principal, attributed Antonelli’s difficulties to the unique challenges posed by the W16, making it tough for the young Italian to adjust.
Although Antonelli had a strong start to the season with points in five of the first six races, his performance declined later, except for a podium finish in Canada.
The turning point was an unsuccessful rear suspension upgrade that affected Antonelli’s results and confidence from the Imola race onwards.
Reverting the development at the Hungarian Grand Prix brought back his points-scoring momentum, but Montreal remained an outlier.
Wolff acknowledges that such challenges are part of Antonelli’s journey towards becoming an F1 champion despite the car’s inconsistency impacting his adaptation.
