Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff's son Jack has secured his first karting title. The nine-year-old, whose mother Susie is the F1 Academy managing director, claimed victory in his debut season of competitive racing.
Jack secured the IAME Series Italy Racing Formula X30 U10 title in Viterbo while racing for KR Motorsport. The young Wolff headed into the sixth round at the top of the leaderboard and produced another win to claim overall victory.
Family racing background
Given his family's racing background, it was likely inevitable that Jack would begin competitive karting. Being under the KR Motorsport banner means his progress is also overseen by Dino Chiesa, who notably helped nurture a young Kimi Antonelli before he became an F1 star with Mercedes.
Antonelli, who has previously mentored Jack, raced under Chiesa and KR Motorsport as a junior before continuing his pathway to the F1 grid. It is way too early to tell whether nine-year-old Wolff will follow the same trajectory but the youngster was delighted to earn his first karting title.
Jack Wolff's reaction
He said: “It was good. We had a lot of wins and some bad races but at the end we fought well and we won the championship, so I’m really happy.
“From the season I did not know I would win nearly every single round, so I was really surprised that I was up there.”
Former KR Motorsport prodigy Antonelli was a standout prospect from an early age, joining the Mercedes junior programme as a 12-year-old in 2019. However, Mercedes chief Toto has emphasised the need to keep karting fun for Jack, rather than prioritising his son's competitiveness on the track.
Balance and advice
“It's important to find the right balance because obviously as a parent you're emotionally involved and it's completely normal,” the Mercedes F1 chief said last month. “But he's nine years old, there's so many small kids and you need to strike the balance right and we try. Sometimes we get it wrong.
“You have difficult moments and he had some difficult moments today and at the end it comes all together and every little failure is a learning for the future.”
When asked what advice he had for other parents, Wolff added: “Just give them time. They're so small, let them enjoy the karting and that's the most important.”
Meanwhile, ex-KR Motorsport star Antonelli tops the F1 driver standings, having won eight of 14 races. The 20-year-old will look to extend his 81-point lead as he prepares for next week's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
