Mercedes boss already planning to put Kimi Antonelli in the car again after the driver's disastrous crash in FP1

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is planning to put Andrea Kimi Antonelli back in the car after his debut practice session ended prematurely. He crashed while running his second timed lap at Monza.

Antonelli is a prospect for Mercedes' second seat in the 2025 F1 season. He made his debut for the team earlier on Friday as he took part in the Italian Grand Prix's FP1. He put in a decent lap-time on his opening lap, being the first one to do so. However, he crashed out at the Parabolica corner (turn 11) during his second lap after losing the rear while turning in. He was reported to be okay.

Team principal Toto Wolff mentioned that the crash will have no impact on the choice of the 2025 driver.

"This accident will have zero effect on who will be Russell’s teammate in 2025," FormulaPassion quoted him. "I think the most important thing is to choose based on ability. And a bad FP1 is not the reason why you judge the driver negatively."

Speaking further, Toto Wolff hinted that Kimi Antonelli will return to the seat later this season during the Mexican Grand Prix.

"We haven’t decided his next commitment with us yet, but I think it will be in Mexico. We won’t bring forward his second FP1 with us because of this accident, I think he’s a strong driver who needs to recover from these things and deal with the pressure."

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Mercedes boss reflects on Kimi Antonelli's F1 debut: "This weekend hasn’t been easy for him"

Kimi Antonelli has a long weekend ahead of him as he will also take part in the Formula 2 race. This is his rookie season in the junior series as well. He skipped Formula 3 because of his excellent performances and was signed by Prema Racing for the 2024 season.

Looking forward to his current weekend at Monza, Toto Wolff feels that it has been tough for him so far with the crash. He said:

"Before the free practice sessions I told him to have fun, take the pressure off and not to forget that this is the best job in the world. And I repeated it to him after the session. This weekend hasn’t been easy for him: he still has to compete in F2, plus he’s an Italian guy at his first time in a Mercedes, and that must be a heavy burden. But if he wants to become champion one day, he has to deal with all this. I have no doubt that he can do it and that he will do it."

After Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari was announced prior to the start of the current Formula 1 season, multiple drivers were speculated to be his replacement at Mercedes. However, Antonelli remains the favorite for the seat. Although the Mercedes team has not made any official announcement.