The hard-to-shift narratives Mercedes needs Antonelli's next steps to dispel

“What he tried to do, the car can’t take.” Well, perhaps if Andrea Kimi Antonelli had been driving a race-win-challenging Ferrari or McLaren in FP1 at Monza, he might not have crashed.

Isn’t this the logical inference of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s spin on his junior charge’s shock slip-up 10 minutes into his Formula 1 weekend bow at last month’s Italian Grand Prix, given how that event turned out for the Silver Arrows?

The data does indeed show that Antonelli was going quicker than Max Verstappen managed for Red Bull on the lap that ultimately topped that session at the Lesmo 2 and Ascari turns. But, in doing this, Antonelli overheated his tyres in scorching conditions and paid the price. Or George Russell’s W15 paid it, at least.

Wolff, as he also subsequently claimed, is certainly right that it’s better to try and slow a rapid driver than speed up a slow one. But the point was better left at just that.

Is this the first sign of what’s to come at Mercedes in 2025 now Antonelli is confirmed as partnering Russell and replacing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton? Raw speed, expensive crash-damage bills?

If so (and in fairness Wolff has said he’s expecting and prepared for a such a period, as well as acknowledging that how Antonelli responds to wince-inducing moments such as FP1 at Monza will be telling), we’re all in for an exciting time. Even more so if Antonelli then makes good on his promise and develops into a honed megastar that can operate at the limit and not traverse it. F1 is obviously improved by having another such competitor.

Antonelli showed impressive speed on first F1 outing before crash

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Antonelli’s speed is obviously there. It’s why Mercedes doesn’t really care about his results in what now appears to be a pointless final step on the junior driver ladder in Formula 2. F1 squads hold the power in who gets plucked and who flounders. But then, grand prix racing has always been a flawed meritocracy…

If Antonelli does indeed develop into the next Verstappen, his Monza 2024 crash will no doubt be lionised and referenced ad infinitum. “The ‘astonishing’ sign of what was to come”, perhaps. What won’t be remembered is how the Monza circuit commentators went from screaming about his initial FP1-leading lap times to rather sheepishly reporting his shunt.

Whatever comes next for Antonelli, his close bond with Wolff will be key

None of this will matter if it all comes good in the next stages of what is a startlingly fast-progressing career. This was a good idea – with risk that was borne out – to introduce and announce him to the wider F1 world amid the frenetic energy of his home race weekend. And sometimes these mishaps come to pass. Wolff and Mercedes are just doing their protection job by pointing out those rapid corner speeds.

What F1 witnessed at Monza is how hard-shifting narratives can start. Antonelli is a likeable, talented young racing driver who surely has a promising future ahead if, when he’s truly immersed in F1’s pressure cooker, he can avoid the pitfalls of others who were once on a similar trajectory. The speed of his rise means there are actually few direct comparisons in the past 20 years – save for the man he’s (middle) named after and, of course, Verstappen. But here we might remember the clamour around Mick Schumacher before he produced a series of un-special F1 results.

Whatever comes next for Antonelli, his close bond with Wolff will be key. And, with the boiling potential of the Verstappen-to-Mercedes-one-day theory just refusing to dissipate, perhaps the person who should be most concerned by the level of shelter offered post-crash is, ultimately, Russell.

Could Antonelli become one of F1's greats?

Photo by: Mercedes AMG