“Learn Formula 1 the hard way”

Ashley Davis10/03/2026

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Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 9:43 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 9:44 p.m.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Andrea Kimi Antonelli's crash in the third practice session in Australia on Saturday showed the Italian was learning and getting stronger in the “Grand Circus”.

Kimi Antonelli started his second World Championship campaign with a second place in the first race of the season in Melbourne, where he also started from the front row. Kimi Antonelli had a crash in the third practice session in Melbourne and his car suffered major damage to the right side. Mercedes mechanics put considerable effort into preparing the car for qualifying and were able to fix it in record time.

Toto Wolff defends Kimi Antonelli: “He learns the sport the hard way. That makes him stronger”

“He literally learns the sport the hard way, which makes him stronger. He was very, very strong on Friday and his speed was there on Saturday as well. But then the incident happened, and this can happen. I think it's a miracle that the mechanics were able to fix the car for qualifying. You can see that he has a very solid base, because Kimi's car was not set up, but he managed to have a strong qualifying and a strong race.

Both our cars were battery limited. This also contributed to their poor starts. In the end, he recorded a very strong second place. He was very quick at the end, he had the speed and we definitely have a lot more to look forward to. He himself will expect more from him, and we from the car, when we eliminate all minor problems. I hope that he and George will fight properly at the front, maybe with other cars,” said Toto Wolff, according to sportal.bg.