Once F1 had left Europe in the autumn of last year, there was a shift.
“Suddenly, we felt like we were making really good progress,” says Shovlin.
“There were signs towards the end of the year. I’m not saying any of us thought we’d see what we’ve seen so far this year, but that we had a decent F1 driver.”
Antonelli has been rather more than that this year. He took the season by storm, and established a consistent supremacy over Russell.
In the best car in the field, Antonelli took six poles and six wins in the first 11 races, establishing a 50-point lead in the championship.
Mercedes lost their dominant form in the second half of the season in the face of challenges from first McLaren and then Red Bull.
But Antonelli remained a consistent threat at the front, and he killed off his Monza ghosts in the Italian Grand Prix with a stunning victory after an engine penalty led to him starting 19th on the grid.
He put in a drive of clinical excellence and, with help from a safety car, chased down and caught Russell in the final laps to take a win that will go down in folklore.
The extent of his turnaround in form has shocked almost everyone.
“We were all surprised,” Wolff says. “My thoughts were always that he needed to make the experience of knowing all the tracks, the pressure of performing on such a high level under the spotlight of the media, the constant public feedback, whether you’re doing well or not, the situations everyone wanted to be close to him.
“There wasn’t one single defining factor where I would have said that made it difficult for him, but this year, he knew exactly what to expect. What was really nice to see is that the self-confidence, without feeling any entitlement, has shone.”
Marco points to his son’s “very strong” mentality.
“In F4 and Freca, he started with not good results, and he was able to remake everything and, at the end, work hard and win the championship,” he says.
“We talk about F1. I don’t know what the spark is in his brain, but Kimi in the past did the same.”
Verstappen says: “For me, there was never any doubt that he would make the jump the year after and already be a lot more consistently competitive.
“It’s normal in the progression of a driver. In your rookie season, it can be quite tough, but at the moment, of course, he’s doing an amazing job.”
Kimi pays tribute to his father, describing him as his “rock”, while Wolff also praises the driver’s “typical Italian family”.
“They are caring, they are loving,” Wolff says. “Kimi’s character, he’s gentle, he has empathy, he has charisma, he has the right amount of intelligence for being a racing driver.”
