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Toto Wolff has reiterated his claim that you 'can't make a donkey fast' after Kimi Antonelli's huge Australian GP practice accident nearly ruined his qualifying.

In the closing stages of FP3, Antonelli crashed heavily at Turn 2, destroying the Mercedes, which Wolff described as looking like a "Lego F1 car", leaving the team in a race against time to repair the W17 for qualifying.

The team was not going to conclude repairs in time until Max Verstappen crashed at Turn 1 in Q1, giving the team precious extra minutes and managed to get Antonelli on track.

The Italian ultimately claimed second place on the grid behind his team leader George Russell as Mercedes bulldozed the opposition at Albert Park, with Russell ending just under eight-tenths faster than third-placed Isack Hadjar for Red Bull.

Recalling Antonelli's raw nature, Wolff was firm that he was backing Antonelli's nature, even if he admitted it could have "been different" if not for Verstappen's crash saving the teenager.

"I am so happy that these ground effect cars are gone, and finally, we can do what we're best at," Wolff told Sky Sports F1.

"I'm feeling relieved for the hard work that was put in by everyone, and the car looked like a Lego Formula 1 car that was thrown on the floor literally two hours before.

"I said five minutes before the start of the session that we wouldn't make it, and then Max went off, and that gained us the minutes to put the car out.

"In terms of speed, he is absolutely there. He's been quick all weekend until he went off in the morning, and it is a miracle that not only was the car put together, but that he did the lap; there was no set-up on it.

"We were never able to measure it, and it is the raw speed, the talent and the ability.

"I said it last year, it is easier to slow someone down than to try to make a donkey fast.

"But dampening someone's energy in the car carries a risk and reward ratio; he never risks too much, but then he is putting it on the edge, and it is something he is going to learn.

"We've had a few of these now, but they're part of him growing, but yes, this could have been different."