Kimi Antonelli reveals Toto Wolff 'kicked him in the b*tt" during Mercedes slump: "Those verbal reproaches hurt"

Kimi Antonelli has shared that his father and Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff 'kicked him in the butt' during his mid-season slump. The 18-year-old rookie had a series of poor results during the European leg of the 2025 F1 season, including four DNFs.

Between Round 7 of the season in Imola and Round 16 at Monza, both home races for Antonelli, he scored points in only three races. One of those was a podium finish in Canada, while the other two were subpar P10 and P9 results in Hungary and Monza.

Kimi Antonelli, who was expected to fill the massive shoes of seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, came under mass scrutiny. At one point, even Toto Wolff termed his performance "underwhelming" after the Italian GP. However, after that moment, Antonelli steered a resurgence and has scored 56 points in five race weekends.

In a recent interview with Blick, the Italian driver was asked who pulled him out of that slump.

"My boss, Toto Wolff, and my father," Antonelli replied. "They kicked me in the butt one by one after Monza. These verbal reproaches and advice hurt, but I needed that reset. I had to focus on the important things again to get back to my good old form. I would never have gotten out of the mess on my own. An hour-long meeting with my engineers also helped."

Since Monza, Kimi Antonelli has gone from strength to strength and had his best race weekend of the season last time out in Brazil. He outperformed teammate George Russell and finished on the podium in both the 24-lap sprint race and the 71-lap feature race. In the feature race, he fended off Max Verstappen, who appreciated the fight the Antonelli put up, in the closing stages to hold on to P2.

Kimi Antonelli describes the intense impact of his father's and Toto Wolff's harsh words

Kimi Antonelli poses with his trophy at the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix - Source: Getty

In the aforementioned interview, Kimi Antonelli was also asked how long he could positively take harsh words and advice from the two senior figures in his life, aka his father and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. The rookie emphasized that both of them have believed in him for the longest time, and any advice comes from a point of bringing out the best in him.

Responding to how long his positive reaction to the harsh criticism would last, Antonelli said:

"A long time, because I know that Toto and my father have believed in me for years. They see more potential in me than I sometimes realize. So, I can get really worked up after a training session or race when I see where I made mistakes and lost time as a result."

F1 heads to Nevada for the Las Vegas Grand Prix this upcoming weekend from November 21 to 23. Mercedes had a terrific race there last year, securing a 1-2 result led by George Russell. It will be Antonelli's first time racing on the Vegas strip and the street circuit.