Apr.2 (GMM) Toto Wolff has urged the media to ease off the growing championship hype around Kimi Antonelli, despite the teenage sensation emerging as an early title favourite.
The 19-year-old Mercedes driver is already leading the standings after three races, but Wolff insists it is far too soon to be talking about a title fight.
“Now they’re going to be talking to him in press conferences about the championship, and they shouldn’t be doing this,” he said.
“He has two wins, there are 19 races left, and there’s plenty of time to win and lose. He needs to keep doing a good job.
“We can talk about the championship in Abu Dhabi, and there’s still a long way to go before then. Nothing has happened yet, we haven’t even completed 20 percent of the season.”
The warning comes as Mercedes risks a potential intra-team battle between Antonelli and George Russell – raising memories of the intense Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg rivalry.
At the same time, Wolff is also playing down suggestions Mercedes could totally dominate the 2026 season.
“Miami will be a fresh start,” he said. “How will the upgrades the teams are bringing work? How have we optimised all the other systems?
“It is going to be exciting. Teams and drivers are starting to learn how to optimise these systems to their advantage, and we saw a first sign of that in Japan.
“During the first two races we were still dominant, but that was not the case at Suzuka. We have always warned about that.”
He added that Mercedes remains cautious about its position.
“We have only had three races. We look like the heroes right now, but it is quite possible that we won’t be in three Grands Prix.”
Ferrari, currently the closest challenger, is intent upon using the April break to close the gap.
Paolo Filisetti wrote in La Gazzetta dello Sport: “The Prancing Horse will use the next four weeks to improve energy management and take advantage of the developments granted to the power unit, the so-called ADUO.
“In parallel, engineers are working on the floor, sides, and flaps, with the definitive introduction of the Macarena wing.”