Conscious that Kimi Antonelli’s successful streak can not proceed, Toto Wolff fears for a way the Italian teenager will take care of the response when it ends.
At all times – not less than publicly – a glass half empty man – certainly, his cracked, half empty glass sits on a poorly assembled Ikea desk which is being approached by an epileptic, blind, three-legged canine – Toto Wolff is aware of that in the end Antonelli’s run will come to an finish. The Austrian is anxious not a lot how {the teenager} will take care of it, however how he’ll take care of the response from followers, and the media, notably in Italy.
„Kimi is doing an distinctive job firstly of this season,“ he tells Gazzetta dello Sport. „It is solely his second 12 months in F1, and he is received three races in a row.
„He deserves all the popularity he is receiving,“ he continues, „however on the identical time, we have to preserve a way of proportion.
„F1 relies on consistency, not simply on particular person moments of success, and Kimi wants the area to develop and write his personal story with out an excessive amount of strain,“ he warns.
In Miami, Antonelli made F1 historical past by turning into the primary driver to transform his first three pole positions into his first three wins, and heads to Canada main the championship by 20 factors.
Regardless of the teen’s dream begin to the season, which should absolutely have completely demoralised his teammate, it’s inevitable that in the end there can be a mistake, if solely because of the intense strain he finds himself subjected to, and it’s the response to this that worries Wolff.
„That is precisely what scares me,“ admits the Austrian. „Kimi is younger, he is charismatic, a bit of massive star, however after an excellent begin, he may have some dangerous moments, and I do not need the general public to start out saying, ‚Oh, what’s occurring? Had been we incorrect about him?‘
„It’s going to all be a part of the expansion course of,“ he continues, „we, as a workforce, are prepared for, however the response from the general public, particularly in Italy, scares us a bit of.
„All of us need Kimi to turn out to be one of many greats of F1, nevertheless it’s solely the start, and we have now to deal with him like a tough diamond. The media, the followers, and even us on the workforce should make this effort.“
