Toto Wolff has said it is too soon to compare his world champion driver Kimi Antonelli to Ayrton Senna but that the Italian might yet develop to be comparable to the Brazilian great whom Antonelli grew up idolising.
Antonelli sealed his first Formula One world championship at the Mexican Grand Prix and with a fifth place at Sunday's São Paulo Grand Prix helped Mercedes secure their ninth constructors' championship and their first drivers' and constructors' double since 2020.
The 20-year-old grew up watching film of Senna's races and was inspired by the Brazilian who won three titles before he was killed in a crash at the San Marino GP at Imola in 1994. Antonelli has adopted the No 12 for his car, in honour of the number Senna used in the early part of his career and has already said he will retain the number next season, rather than adopting the No 1, as is the option for the reigning world champion.
Expectations are high that Antonelli will go on to become a multiple world champion but in Brazil the Mercedes team principal cautioned that it was too early to be putting pressure on his driver to emulate a legend of Formula One.
"Comparing Kimi to Senna? I was always not very keen in having this comparison because Senna is a giant of the sport," Wolff said. "Who he was as a person, who he was as a racing driver and I feel that setting these standards for a 20-year-old driver is a lot of pressure.
"That's why I want to, how can I say, not compare him at this stage. He's Kimi; Senna was Senna."
Before the meeting at Interlagos Antonelli met the Senna family at their estate where he was welcomed and visited the Brazilian's grave. He posted a picture of himself on social media sitting in Senna's Lotus 98T, which the Brazilian drove to victory in the Spanish and Detroit Grands Prix in 1986 and bears the No 12. " I will carry these memories with me forever," he posted.
Senna's niece Paula presented Antonelli with a sculpture she had made of her uncle and described her pleasure at seeing what "a special character" Antonelli was. Wolff said he appreciated how they had taken to the Italian, whom they called Senninha – "little Senna" – which is also the title of a comic book inspired by the Brazilian driver.
"It's sweet to see that how the Senna family embraces him. They say that it's the first time that it looks like there is a second Senna," Wolff added. "And that is the first time that you can say, OK, he's a little bit like him. But maybe at that stage he's a Senninha and not a Senna yet. So let the Senninha develop, let him become a Senna."
Despite Mercedes clinching both titles with three races still to go and enjoying the quickest car for the first half of the season, Wolff does not believe the team are set to enjoy a period of dominance in the sport similar to when they won eight constructors' and seven drivers' titles between 2014 and 2021. Having been caught by Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, he expects next season to be a closely-fought affair.
"It looks like the most maybe competitive era that is about to start, because the teams have become so professional in capability, in resource, that these kind of runaway seasons, I don't see them any more," he said.
"You can see how quickly it goes from being dominant and within a few races you realise that your upgrade doesn't work and you fall back and you're just third on the road. It's great for the sport. I wished it was the era of Mercedes and me running away with another few championships. I don't think it's the reality."