Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has fully exonerated Kimi Antonelli from blame regarding his poor getaway during the Miami Grand Prix Sprint, attributing the Italian’s latest start difficulties to a technical “glitch” on the team’s side. The incident marked Antonelli’s fifth consecutive problematic standing start in 2026, despite starting from second position on the grid.
Although Antonelli managed to recover during the race and overtook teammate George Russell to cross the line in fourth place, his efforts were undermined by a five-second penalty for track limits violations. The penalty dropped him to sixth in the final classification and reduced his championship points advantage over Russell from 10 to just seven points.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes were struggling with their current package while awaiting upgrades scheduled for Montreal. “We knew that we were a little bit out of sync with our upgrades, which are coming in Montreal, but we were hoping that we would be able to hold on for now,” Wolff explained. “In terms of lap-time, we do, but obviously, if you have such a bad getaway, which was not at all Kimi’s fault, it was a glitch on our side, it is difficult.”
Antonelli confirmed that he had executed his start procedure correctly for the first time in recent races, emphasizing that the grip levels were significantly lower than anticipated. “We’ve been doing work over the break, and on my side, for once, I did everything right with the procedures,” the Italian driver stated. He admitted to making several mistakes during the race due to frustration, including the track limits infringement that ultimately cost him valuable championship points.