Karpov: Wolff’s belief and Mercedes’ support helped Antonelli win the F1 title

Kimi Antonelli’s first Formula 1 title is a story of trust as well as talent, argues Oleg Karpov in a Motorsport.com commentary. Karpov credits Toto Wolff’s commitment through setbacks and the support Mercedes built around its young driver with helping Antonelli flourish.

Bradley Lord, Wolff’s deputy, recalled that on the day Lewis Hamilton told Mercedes he was leaving, the team called Antonelli to its factory. Wolff told him the seat might be his, Lord said, and Lord described Wolff’s confidence in the choice as firm from the outset.

Karpov points to Antonelli’s difficult F2 campaign, a crash at Monza and a later difficult stretch followed by a media storm as moments when Wolff might have wavered. Instead, he says, Wolff and Mercedes kept backing him. Lord also described a wider group around the driver, including race engineer Peter Bonnington and staff covering engineering, performance, scheduling, travel, public relations and coaching. He said Antonelli could handle F1 pressure without being overwhelmed.

Karpov says Mercedes’ communications staff helped shield Antonelli from media scrutiny, while acknowledging that journalists were often frustrated by denied requests, particularly early on. He also acknowledges the Mercedes car as part of the story, but argues that Antonelli himself made a difference in the championship.

At 20, Antonelli became Formula 1’s youngest champion, breaking the previous record by more than three years in only his second F1 season. Writing after the Mexican Grand Prix, Karpov noted that four rounds remained and neither Max Verstappen nor Lewis Hamilton could still catch him mathematically. Lord said more than half of Mercedes’ personnel were new since 2021; Antonelli’s title was the team’s first drivers’ championship since 2020. Karpov presents the crown as the payoff of a broader rebuild, not just one young driver’s breakthrough.