Mercedes take blame for significant Kimi Antonelli blunder

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has absolved Kimi Antonelli of blame following a string of poor starts in Miami.

The Italian driver slipped backwards at the start of both the sprint race and the grand prix over the weekend.

It is a recurring issue for Mercedes this season, with the team yet to lead out of the opening corner despite securing four pole positions in four races.

However, Wolff has insisted that Mercedes, not Antonelli, must shoulder the blame for the difficult starts.

“It's not at all on him,” Wolff told media including RacingNews365. 

“I think [Saturday] and [Sunday] was a team mistake. We all know it's just not good enough.

“We're not doing a good enough job in giving them a tool in their hands, whether it's clutch and grip estimates.

“And we are the only ones who, let's say, don't get that right now for a few races.”

Despite its run of poor getaways off the line, Mercedes is still unbeaten when it comes to grands prix wins this year.

But Wolff insisted Mercedes can't rely on its pace advantage to overcome its unreliable starts.

“We just have to dig even deeper and to try to understand how we can fix that,” he said.

“Because the gaps are not big enough to cruise into the sunset, and therefore you can't be missing starts.”