The Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has paid tribute to his driver Kimi Antonelli, who all but closed out his first Formula One world championship with a victory at the US Grand Prix that Wolff described as the Italian’s best race yet.

After the win at the Circuit of the Americas Wolff was also at pains to point out the considerable efforts made by a host of others in bringing the young Italian to having one hand on a record-breaking title.

After his victory in Austin, Antonelli needs to finish only ninth or better at the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend. He could finish outside the points as long as he is also in front of his teammate George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, the only two other drivers still mathematically in the running. If he seals it in Mexico City he will become F1’s youngest world champion at just 20 years old.

His victory at the Circuit of the Americas from pole position with a controlled, dominant run largely at the front of the field, was his ninth of the season and has moved him to within touching distance of the title and Wolff heralded it as Antonelli’s best drive.

“On Kimi’s side obviously the main headline is that [it is] for me the best race that he’s delivered so far,” said Wolff. “Getting off the start with the inferior tyre and then controlling it at all times. Exceptional. I think he’s outperformed the car.”

When asked if it matched Antonelli’s superb drive from 19th to victory at the Italian Grand Prix, Wolff acknowledged that that too was special but insisted he felt the win in Austin was up there with that drive and Antonelli concurred.

“Monza was a super special one and one that I will remember forever,” Antonelli said. “But this one probably in terms of execution was better, because the way we built up and the way we built the performance throughout the weekend was very good.”

Wolff believed it was all the more impressive given how difficult Antonelli’s rookie season had been in 2025 when at times he struggled with the car and made mistakes that caused some to question whether Mercedes had been correct to promote him to the team so soon. Doubts he felt Antonelli had comprehensively silenced.

“There are many people that said last year after nine races without points, he shouldn’t be in a Mercedes. People in other teams that said he shouldn’t even be in Formula One,” said Wolff. “All of that now is extremely satisfying to see what he’s able to deliver, how he’s working with the team, with Bono [race engineer, Peter Bonnington] and yielding the results. But it wasn’t an easy road.

“It’s been 30 or more years that I’ve tried to understand racing drivers’ brains and I still don’t know what has happened over the winter. His ability to process and deliver something that’s outstanding which we didn’t see coming.”

Mercedes took Antonelli on as part of their driver development program when the Italian was 12 years old and have supported him through karting and in the feeder series to F1 since then.

Wolff was the driving force behind bringing Antonelli into the team to take Lewis Hamilton’s seat when the British driver left for Ferrari. Wolff was insistent he felt the young Italian was ready to step up, however he maintained that Antonelli’s success should not be viewed as having come from nowhere but rather was the product of many years and the input of many people.

“I wasn’t the one responsible for it,” said Wolff. “It was teamwork. It was our junior team around [Mercedes’ driver development advisor] Gwen [Lagrue] that discovered him when he was 11.

“Credit to that group that have developed him over the many years. I read an interview [with Ferrari vice chairman] Piero Ferrari last week where he said: ‘What a talent, he reminds me of Niki Lauda’. And I’m thinking, people don’t get that this is the work of nine years.

“The development of nine years, the hardship over nine years, the integration of the team, the working with the engineers, millions in the development of his career, of his ability, of his character together with his parents. It’s just not that it landed like this.”