Toto Wolff Blames Mercedes for Antonelli's Miami Sprint Start

Toto Wolff said Kimi Antonelli's slow start in the Miami Sprint was Mercedes' fault, not the rookie's. That left Antonelli sixth after a 19-lap race in which he lost ground at the start and picked up a five-second penalty. Mercedes then had to explain why a driver who began second on the grid could not hold position.

Antonelli's Start Unravels

Antonelli dropped from second on the grid to fourth at Turn 1, as Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc went by on the opening lap. The damage came early and he never fully recovered in the 100-kilometre dash.

He later received five seconds for exceeding track limits on multiple occasions, and that pushed his final result down to sixth position. George Russell started sixth and finished fourth on the road before Antonelli's penalty moved him up to third after the race.

Wolff Points At Mercedes

Wolff did not place the blame on the driver. "But if you have a bad getaway, which wasn't at all Kimi's fault but was an issue on our side, it is going to be difficult to fight back."

He also said Mercedes were not perfectly aligned with rival upgrade plans. "We know that we are a little out of sync with our upgrades compared to other teams."

That leaves Mercedes in a development fight that is already tight at the front. Wolff said the team was still close on raw pace in Miami: "We were hoping we were going to be able to hold on to our advantage, and in terms of pure lap times, we were close to the pace at the front in the Sprint."

Russell And Antonelli

Russell said fourth was the maximum Mercedes could have achieved across the sprint distance. Antonelli agreed the start procedure looked right from his side and said the clutch drop was good, but the poor launch still compromised his race.

"On my side, for once I did everything right, so it was a shame to again have a really bad start. It just compromised the race." For Mercedes, the immediate issue is not just one bad launch in Miami; it is whether the team can bring enough before its rivals in a season Wolff called "a pure development race and whoever brings a few tenths before their competitors will gain an advantage."