Toto Wolff has voiced his surprise over how quickly Kimi Antonelli has matured as an F1 driver and established himself as a championship contender.
Mercedes has enjoyed a strong start to the new F1 campaign with eight victories in the opening 11 rounds of the year.
Six of those wins have gone the way of Antonelli, who has established a 50-point lead at the head of the drivers' standings at the summer break.
The Italian driver is currently partaking in just his second F1 season, with his maiden campaign in 2025 filled with blips and challenges.
However, Antonelli's form this year has placed him as the firm favourite for the title with the second half of the campaign looming - much to Wolff's surprise.
“Why that is, I have no idea,” Wolff told media including RacingNews365. “Over these few months, it's a different young man that has turned up.
“Today [during practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix] he couldn't put a lap together with the soft tyre.
“And what he said is, rather than any young young kid who would say, 'I'm doing another one', he said, 'I'm pitting. Let's do the long runs'.
“He didn't need to have the time on the board. He had the feedback of 'we're losing a tenth and a half in Turn 4 because you're lifting'.
“He said, 'that's fine; tomorrow it's going to come'.”
Should he win the title this year, Antonelli would become the youngest champion in history, beating Sebastian Vettel's record by three years.
The 19-year-old has drawn praise for his consistent qualifying performances and his impressive race speed, which has often left him out-pacing team-mate George Russell.
When asked which element of Antonelli's growth has surprised him the most, Wolff replied: “The whole thing is a surprise.
“That someone can grow so much over a few months. His capability of taking information in, processing it, and executing it is outstanding.
“It's the best I've seen from any young driver in terms of the growing process going so quickly.”
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