Creators & Partners
The Winning Formula.
Too young to know better? What Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes and IWC can teach us about challenging convention.
How much experience does it take to know what is possible? And how little do you need to believe that anything is?
In Formula One, where performance is measured down to the last millisecond, the answers usually involve data, engineering and years of experience. Kimi Antonelli offers a different perspective. Sometimes, not knowing the limits is precisely what helps you push them.
Too young to know better?
At twenty, Kimi became World Champion. In a sport where experience is often considered the ultimate currency, his rise is a reminder that there is more than one way to get ahead. When he crossed the line for his first Grand Prix win, the radio message said it all:
“He's too young. We shouldn't put him in a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller team. He needs the experience. Look at the mistakes he makes. Here we go, Kimi. Victory.”
The sceptics had their reasons. Formula One is not exactly known for its patience.
Every corner demands judgement, every decision has consequences, and mistakes rarely come cheap. Yet Kimi brought something no simulation can quite replicate: the instinct to act, the confidence to commit and the freedom to see possibilities where others see risks.
His philosophy is as direct as his driving:
“If you are good enough, then you’re old enough.”
Instinct needs a good engine.
Of course, boldness alone won’t get you to the top. Behind every driver is a small army of people making thousands of decisions long before the lights go out. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team has spent sixteen years learning how to compete, adapt and win. Mercedes-Benz has been engineering automobiles for 140 years. That is a considerable head start in turning ambitious ideas into reality.
But perhaps the most interesting part is not the difference between twenty years and 140. It is what happens when they work together.
A wealth of experience can make the seemingly impossible achievable. It gives engineers the tools to solve problems, refine performance and push precision further.
The Speed of Adaptation.
Yet a fresh perspective can be just as valuable. It questions familiar solutions, challenges established thinking and refuses to take every limitation at face value.
Kimi brings that restless energy to the cockpit. As those inside the garage put it:
“With Kimi, it’s not just raw speed; it’s the speed of adaptation. Modern kids grow up with sim telemetry and immediate data loops - he learns and calibrates his driving in real time like machine learning. He simply doesn’t have the lag of older generations.”
The team gives him the machinery, knowledge and collective experience to compete at the highest level. He brings a different way of thinking about what can be done.
Neither cancels out the other. Together, they create an advantage.
Making History. Not repeating it.
At IWC Schaffhausen, we find that idea just as compelling. For 158 years, we have been combining engineering expertise with a drive to move watchmaking forward. We know the value of experience: the accumulated knowledge, the precision and the craftsmanship that go into creating a fine timepiece. But we also know that tradition is most interesting when it leaves room for a little disruption.
The watches we make today build on generations of expertise, yet progress depends on asking new questions. Could a material do more? Could a mechanism be engineered differently? Could an established idea be improved by looking at it from another angle?
These are not questions that dismiss the past. They are questions that put it to work.
Some things are worth rethinking. Time is one of them.
It’s a philosophy that connects us naturally with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team. In both watchmaking and motorsport, precision is essential, but standing still is not an option.
Experience gives us the means to go further. Curiosity gives us a reason to try.
Kimi’s success is a timely reminder that the future does not always wait its turn. Sometimes, it arrives with a fresh perspective, challenges the established order and makes the next generation of possibilities look obvious in hindsight.
The winning formula, then, may have less to do with age than attitude. Know your craft. Respect what came before. And never assume that the best answer has already been found.
Thank you, Kimi, for challenging everything we thought we knew about time.
The future has officially arrived.