“Delusional” Toto Wolff Is Pushing a Kimi Antonelli-Max Verstappen Agenda that Fans Refuse to Buy

The FIA’s newest announcement revealed that Kimi Antonelli, who’s at the moment 17 years outdated, can get a superlicense for himself earlier than his 18th birthday. It will permit him to be part of the F1 grid, one thing Toto Wolff has been brazenly wanting for months. However the group, as a substitute of appreciating this exemption, is giving the FIA stick for bending the foundations to favor Mercedes.

Wolff misplaced out on Max Verstappen as a teen in 2014 when the Dutchman determined to signal for Crimson Bull’s sister crew, Toro Rosso, as a substitute. Wolff waited too lengthy and needed Verstappen to develop outdoors of F1 whereas Crimson Bull put him in a seat right away.

Since then, the Austrian has been on a mission to seek out his personal ‘Max Verstappen’, and Antonelli’s repute of being one of many brightest racing abilities has made him the Mercedes crew principal’s prime goal.

Followers, nevertheless, refuse to purchase this. On X, the 52-year-old was being labeled as “delusional“. To many, Verstappen is a generational expertise, whose skills can’t be replicated by Wolff’s obsession with making Antonelli the subsequent smartest thing.

Alternatively, some sympathize with Antonelli, who’s simply 17 years outdated (turns 18 in August). Furthermore, the Italian has nonetheless not even stood on an F2 podium, and but, he’s being in comparison with a three-time World Champion like Verstappen. These expectations may make Antonelli crumble, which is one thing neither he nor Wolff will need.

FIA blasted for bending guidelines in favor of Toto Wolff and Mercedes

2024 has been a troublesome 12 months for Wolff. At the beginning, Lewis Hamilton revealed he would depart the Silver Arrows for Ferrari subsequent season.

This implies Wolff has to cater to the troublesome job of discovering a reliable substitute for the seven-time World Champion. Regardless of earlier hyperlinks with Carlos Sainz and Verstappen too, Hamilton’s substitute but stays a thriller.

Antonelli has been broadly tipped to make his entry into F1 subsequent season, both with Mercedes or with a crew that can assist him develop earlier than the Brackley-based crew comes knocking. For this, the FIA needed to bend some guidelines and the F1 group was shocked.

Moreover, Antonelli is popping 18 in two months, after which he would mechanically be eligible for an FIA tremendous license. Nonetheless, Mercedes and the FIA couldn’t wait. This appears to have upset the group even additional.