Toto Wolff 'under pressure' at Mercedes as Kimi Antonelli swap assessed

A multiple-time F1 race winner has warned that Toto Wolff has been put under pressure at Mercedes by one of his own decisions this season.

The Austrian was put in the unexpected position of having to replace Lewis Hamilton in his team's driver lineup for this season, when the seven-time world champion announced his intention to move to Ferrari.

Wolff made the bold decision to promote Kimi Antonelli to partner George Russell at the age of just 18 years old, a move with a view to the long term due to the young Italian's inexperience and undeniable potential.

The teenager has been predictably outperformed by his team-mate throughout his debut season, and had picked up just three points in six races heading into last weekend's proceedings in Baku.

Are Antonelli's performances putting pressure on Wolff?

Antonelli picked up an impressive fourth place in Azerbaijan to arrest his slump, and Ralf Schumacher has called the result 'important' for Wolff, Mercedes, and the driver himself - with their being reports that the team were discussing a move to replace the teenager with Carlos Sainz.

Speaking on the Sky Germany podcast Backstage Boxengasse, Schumacher said: "Formula 1 is very short-lived. Kimi Antonelli had an important weekend in Baku, where he did something for his public image.

"This result was also important internally for Mercedes. It wasn't just Kimi who was under pressure, but Toto Wolff too. He decided to give Kimi the cockpit after Lewis Hamilton.

"If the driver that Wolff proposed to the main shareholders doesn't perform well, then they'll say, 'What do we do now?' In the end, the whole thing is expensive, and you also have to look at the constructors' championship. That's why the Baku weekend was so important for Mercedes.

"Kimi had a solid weekend. He can build on that now. So I don't think that door will open again for Carlos Sainz."

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