Motor racing-Antonelli crash has no bearing on Mercedes future, says Wolff
MONZA, Italy, Aug 30 (Reuters) -Kimi Antonelli's crash on his Formula One practice debut with Mercedes will not harm his chances of replacing Lewis Hamilton next season, team boss Toto Wolff made clear on Friday.
The 18-year-old Italian is clear favourite to take Hamilton's seat alongside George Russell when the seven-times world champion leaves for Ferrari at the end of the year.
Antonelli's Italian Grand Prix practice debut lasted a mere 10 minutes at Monza before he lost control and smashed into the barriers, bringing out red flags.
"Zero effect. I think the most important (thing) is to hire based on ability," Wolff told reporters when asked if the crash would have any bearing on the driver decision.
"An FP1 (first practice session) that's gone wrong is not the reason why you decide for or against a driver," added the Austrian.
Mercedes have identified Antonelli as a special talent, one potentially capable of being compared to Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
Wolff said Antonelli was fine, after a crash whose force he put at 45G, and felt confident in the car. He was likely to get another practice opportunity at the Mexican Grand Prix in October.
"He's a rookie, he's very young, we are prepared to invest into his future and these moments will happen and they will continue to happen next year but there will also be a lot of highlights," he added.
"We'd rather have a problem in slowing him down than making him faster, because what we've seen from one-and-a-half laps is just astonishing."
Wolff said Antonelli had apologised after the crash for leaving them with a car that "looks a little bit like a Lego box falling on the floor".
He felt the Italian was "just bitten" by the high speed circuit's new asphalt and tyre temperatures and had been carrying a heavy burden with a home debut but would recover from the setback.
The Austrian said he had told Antonelli before the session to go out and enjoy the moment.
"I said to him also to take the pressure off (that) we live in our micro-bubble here, nobody is interested in FP1 anyway. Whatever happens, happens and we just get on with things. I told him the same after the session," he added.
"In our industry we perfectly understand who is capable and not... it has been a while that an Italian driver was in a top team so I am sure this can be a lot for an 18-year-old."
Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.