Wolff says Senna family sees a ‘Senninha’ in Antonelli

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the Senna family sees a possible “Senninha” in Kimi Antonelli. After the Brazilian Grand Prix, he said the 20-year-old should be allowed to develop without being compared with Ayrton Senna: setting those standards for a young driver, he said, brings too much pressure.

“He's Kimi, Senna was Senna,” Wolff said. He had voiced that caution earlier in the 2026 season: after Antonelli’s fifth consecutive victory, at Monaco, Wolff asked Italian media not to compare the then-19-year-old with Senna.

Antonelli had clinched the world title at the Mexican Grand Prix. A few days later, ahead of the São Paulo round, he visited the Senna family and raced at Interlagos in a yellow helmet evocative of the Brazilian. Wolff’s advice was to “let the Senninha develop.”