Toto Wolff has revealed that he told Kimi Antonelli the same message before the session and after his FP1 crash, downplaying the impact of the 18-year-old’s shunt at the Parabolica corner.

Antonelli made his first-ever appearance at a Grand Prix weekend in front of his home crowd at Monza, replacing George Russell in the W15. After setting an electric first lap, the Italian lost control in the final sector, spinning into the barrier at high speed.

The crash was an embarrassing moment for Antonelli, who has been hyped up ahead of a full-time drive with the Silver Arrows in 2025. His contract was expected to be announced ahead of practice, although it remains to be seen whether the crash impacts the timing of the reveal.

Offering a peek behind the curtain at his chat with Antonelli, Wolff said: “He apologised first of all, and I think this is what you need to do when you bring a car back that looks a little bit like a Lego box [that has] fallen on the floor.

“But [he] also said that he felt so much confidence in the car, the car was good and I guess he was just bitten. Everybody suffered from loss of temperature, especially rear temperature out of Ascari with these kinds of speed, and that’s why the rear went, the way it slipped out.”

Touching on his message from behind the session, Wolff added: “I told him to enjoy it. I think he has a lot of natural ability but he must not forget that this is the best job in the world.

“I said to him also to take the pressure off – we live in our microbubble here, nobody’s interested in FP1 anyway. Whatever happens, happens, and just get on with things. And I told him the same after the session.”

Despite wrecking the car after just 10 minutes on the track, Antonelli has not damaged his chances of securing a seat for 2025. “No, zero effect,” he insisted. “Most important is to hire based on ability, and an FP1 that’s gone wrong is not the reason why you decide for or against a driver.”

The crash was less than ideal for Russell, who missed the opening practice session of the weekend to afford Antonelli the experience. Fortunately for the Brit, his engineers managed to repair the car in time, and he eventually finished fourth fastest in FP2.