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‘Like an AI agent’: Wolff hails Antonelli’s Italian GP victory in title charge

Toto Wolff has compared Kimi Antonelli to the greats of Formula One after the Mercedes driver’s remarkable victory at the Italian Grand Prix where he came back to take the flag from 19th place on the grid. The Mercedes team principal cited the win as similar to some of the best made by Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, and said that Antonelli would likely remember the race as one of the greatest of his career. Antonelli, 20 years old and in only his second season in the sport, delivered an exception…

By the Truvace desk2 min read1 sourceJournalismTRV-2026-1137· cite & verify
‘Like an AI agent’: Wolff hails Antonelli’s Italian GP victory in title charge

In brief

Toto Wolff has compared Kimi Antonelli to the greats of Formula One after the Mercedes driver’s remarkable victory at the Italian Grand Prix where he came back to take the flag from 19th place on the grid. The Mercedes team principal cited the win as similar to some of the best made by Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, and said that Antonelli would likely remember the race as one of the greatest of his career.

He now has seven wins this season, including a run of five in a row, is in a strong position to close out the championship and Wolff compared his ability to learn and improve to that of advanced artificial intelligence. For me it’s like an AI agent that continuously self-improves and learns.” Russell, the more experienced driver at Mercedes, has a huge task ahead and admitted his teammate was all but uncatchable.

Main points

  1. Toto Wolff has compared Kimi Antonelli to the greats of Formula One after the Mercedes driver’s remarkable victory at the Italian Grand Prix where he came back to take the flag from 19th place on the grid.
  2. The Mercedes team principal cited the win as similar to some of the best made by Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, and said that Antonelli would likely remember the race as one of the greatest of his career.
  3. Antonelli, 20 years old and in only his second season in the sport, delivered an exceptional drive to take victory in Monza, fighting his way through the field and ultimately beating his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, who had started in second on the grid, into the runner-up spot.

The gain

He now has seven wins this season, including a run of five in a row, is in a strong position to close out the championship and Wolff compared his ability to learn and improve to that of advanced artificial intelligence.

The rundown

Antonelli, 20 years old and in only his second season in the sport, delivered an exceptional drive to take victory in Monza, fighting his way through the field and ultimately beating his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, who had started in second on the grid, into the runner-up spot. Wolff, who had been insistent that bringing Antonelli into the team last season was the right decision despite questions being raised over his youth and relative inexperience, felt Antonelli had definitively proved himself.

Sources

  1. JournalismThe Guardian2026-09-07

The debate