Toto Wolff defends Kimi Antonelli with Max Verstappen comparison

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed Kimi Antonelli for future success amid his difficult run of form at the team. Antonelli has scored points just twice in the last nine races, which includes a podium result at the Canadian Grand Prix. However, the rookie has highlighted he has lost confidence in the car since the start of the campaign. Antonelli has often been compared to Max Verstappen, given the now-four-time champion also made his F1 debut as a teenager while skipping steps in the junior racing ladder. While Antonelli is continue to endure a stretch of uncomfortable results, Wolff assured Mercedes still has faith in the Italian as a drew a contrast to Verstappen's early days in F1. “We want to have a driver that has speed, that is fast, that learns, that scores the points," Wolff told media including RacingNews365 . "But all the big ones make mistakes. It’s difficult to compare now to Max, he was given a different environment at Toro Rosso in the beginning. “But there were also some moments where you said ‘that was a big mistake’.” Antonelli was called up by Mercedes this year to replace the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton. Having been thrown into a competitive environment with the pressure of performing for the Mercedes company on his shoulders, Wolff suggested Antonelli is under even greater pressure than Verstappen faced 10 years ago. "Kimi, an 18-year-old thrown in this mammoth of a team representing Mercedes, he's going to make mistakes,” he said. “Hopefully less mistakes next year and score bigger points - but my 100 per cent belief is in him on the long-term. “That is just part of the learning.”