Wolff to follow 'Hamilton blueprint' with Antonelli

Toto Wolff believes a Lewis Hamilton-style blueprint will help Andrea Kimi Antonelli cope with the "different animal" that is F1. 

Antonelli will be the driver to replace Hamilton next season at Mercedes, with shades of Hamilton's own junior career in the Italian.

Hamilton was a rookie, as Antonelli will be, when he joined McLaren in 2007 following a stellar junior career, with then-McLaren boss Ron Dennis playing down the pressure on Hamilton, saying "you can't expect - and nor do we expect - immediate performance."

Antonelli has been dubbed as 'the next Max Verstappen' - another driver who was promoted into F1 as a teenager, at just 17 in 2015, but Wolff is determined to follow the Hamilton path with his protege.

"I think the project that inspired me more is the one that is more similar to Hamilton's career," Wolff told Autosprint when Verstappen's career path was also put to him. 

"[Hamilton's] growth in the junior categories and his impact in Formula 1 came at a time when you could test a lot more than Kimi has been able to do now. 

"Ron at the time said Lewis needed to take it easy to get used to F1, also because [Fernando] Alonso was at McLaren. 

"However, that never happened, Lewis was immediately competitive and a success.

"With the current preparation, Kimi can jump into our car and be competitive. 

"However, F1 now is a different animal than it was at the time of Hamilton's debut. There are a lot more dimensions and facets compared to the past. 

"There is more pressure and social media, so I think it is important to keep everything moving in the right direction, keep the right priorities and avoid what is not essential. 

"The goal is to create a new success story as happened with Hamilton."