Toto Wolff’s son is starting his karting career (Image: Getty)
is meticulously preparing for his debut season in F1, but the 18-year-old has also picked up a side job, teaching team principal ’s son the tips and tricks of go-karting.
Antonelli is a good mentor for Wolff’s son, Jack, to learn from. After starting out in go-karts in 2014, the Bologna-born teenager won a sensational 15 karting championships before graduating into the Italian F4 Championship in 2021.
From there, it has been a steep rise. After a short foundational programme in open-wheel cars in 2021, Antonelli laid waste to the field in 2022, winning 13 of the 20 races in Italian F4 and topping the standings in ADAC F4. He stepped up again in 2023, sealing the Formula Regional titles in Europe and the Middle East.
Speaking to about the experience of working with his new boss’ son, Antonelli explained: “He’s not bad, he’s been improving quite a lot. Every test, he was getting better and better. It was nice to see.”
Wolff Jnr is already learning from F1 world champion , too. According to his father, the young karting prodigy has taken after the Dutchman in using his simulator heavily in between race weekends, learning the track from his home.
Kimi Antonelli is mentoring Toto Wolff’s son (Image: Getty)
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“My son is seven years old,” Wolff explained to . “He has a kart simulator at home. He races against other drivers online. There are four relevant tracks in Italy. He had never driven on one of them before, but he knew it from the simulator.
“Then we took part in a race there. He goes onto the track and is immediately the fastest. Then he says to me: ‘I know the track’. I answer: ‘Yes, but only in the simulator’. He says: ‘I’m telling you, I’ve been here before.’
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“What do we conclude from that? Young people no longer differentiate between reality and the virtual world. The graphics are so good these days, and young people’s minds work differently. My son sometimes drives 20 kart races of five minutes each in a row.
“They have everything, from the start to the crash. They have experienced it all. Normally, you would recommend this type of training to every driver. The older ones will probably find it a bit more difficult. And maybe it doesn’t work for everyone like it did for Max.”