Toto Wolff shocked after latest 'beyond incomprehensible' Kimi Antonelli feat

Toto Wolff admitted he did not see Kimi Antonelli's pole position lap coming at the United States Grand Prix, with the Mercedes boss left stunned by his driver's latest "beyond incomprehensible" piece of brilliance at the Circuit of the Americas.

Antonelli topped qualifying with a 1:34.035, edging out Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds and Isack Hadjar's Red Bull in third. 

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top five for Ferrari, with Mercedes team-mate George Russell sixth.

Speaking to Sky F1 after the session, Wolff revealed he had undersold his own driver's chances to a guest in the garage beforehand.

"Yeah, and it's still a little bit of a surprise," said Wolff on Antonelli's pole. 

"You know, we had a guest in the garage that asked me, 'What do you expect from qualifying?' And I said something between P3 and P5. So the guy thinks I'm totally incompetent with my judgement, but we didn't see that lap coming."

Kimi Antonelli style continues to stun Toto Wolff

Starting from pole puts Antonelli in a position where he could do what he needs to do to potentially become world champion in Austin.

To become world champion in Austin, Antonelli must win, with Hamilton in fifth or lower and Russell in ninth or lower.

Wolff went on to describe how Antonelli's approach borders on reckless in pursuit of lap time, even if it keeps delivering results.

"The truth is he's pushing the limits so much, and it's almost like he goes into this autopilot mode of what can I extract from the car, and then you know he slides over those limits," added Wolff.

"I've been joking with his dad during the races, like how is this even possible? He said it's beyond incomprehensible for his father too, but I'd rather slow down a race horse than try to accelerate a donkey because that's not possible."