Toto Wolff about Kimi Antonelli
“After Lewis, we now have a new global rock star at Mercedes,” said Wolff. “He thrills the masses, from young to old. It doesn’t matter what gender is cheering him on.
“Yes, we can’t go to a restaurant together anymore. Immediately, lines of autograph hunters form. Then there’s no peace and quiet.”
I don't know what George can do against Toto Wolff dream project.
Honestly, I don't think it's a secret that George isn't the world's most popular driver, but I don't think Toto possesses the introspection to realise the role both he and Mercedes have played in that, and how their different upbringings affect how they're seen and behave, and hes unlikely to honestly address that now he has dollar signs in his eyes with his new cash cow.
George has always towed the line, done what he's been told and strive to be the "perfect Mercedes boy" straight out of the Mercedes PR handbook. When Lewis came to Mercedes he was already a superstar. George is the first driver to make it from Mercedes junior academy to the senior team and I don't think people appreciate how that's it's own poison chalice. From the perspective of Mercedes, he's not the middle child, he's the first born. He's essentially the test subject for the marketing department and they've kept him on a tight leash at every turn.
I think it's also underestimated how someone in George's position, likely doesn't feel he has the leverage to pushback against what he's told to do. He feels indebted to Mercedes for funding his career, he doesn't have any other options or connections in the paddock. Dictating how you want to be perceived and having the freedom to fully be yourself is a luxury reserved for those in a position of privilege in a sport like this. George's dad brought him up with fear of failure instilled in him. That fun was unprofessional. Essentially encouraged him to make himself small to not cause a fuss. Never bite the hand that feeds you. The result being that he never quite seems himself and the sort of awkwardness of trying desperately to be what someone else has told him to be reads as inauthentic.
Then Kimi comes along. The PR team can correct the 'mistakes' they made with George. Where they told George to rein it in, keep calm, polite, never complain, be a polished and corporate gentleman - now they have a teenager and they can tell him to do the opposite. To be large and loud and exert his personality. He has the confidence to run free, people from his sort of financial upbringing are taught that the world will fit around you. He's given the space to be himself which in turn breeds the perception of authenticity, which is the currency these days in marketing. He's not afraid to command a room of adults to participate in his silly pranks because he's got the confidence to just be and the freedom to just exist on his own terms, and unsurprisingly people buy in to that.
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