Andrea Kimi Antonelli frightened by Suzuka: adjustments to close the gap to George Russell. Kimi Antonelli is preparing for his third Formula 1 weekend on the challenging Suzuka circuit.

In his third race in the top tier of motorsport, his talent has been evident and has certainly not gone unnoticed. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has made an excellent start to his Formula 1 career, finishing fourth in Australia and sixth in China. But how will he handle the extremely demanding Suzuka circuit? To get closer to his teammate George Russell, the Italian driver has announced necessary changes to his driving style.

Despite the immense pressure on him—having spent only one year in Formula 2 before immediately debuting with Mercedes—Antonelli has not disappointed. So far, partly due to the car’s performance, he has established himself as the best among the many rookies on the grid. However, there is still a lot of work to be done.

What has been visible from onboard footage, even from the early test days, is quite clear. The behavior of Mercedes number 12 is completely different from that of car number 63. This is entirely expected—one cannot expect otherwise from a driver who, barely of age, has been “thrown” into the seat of one of the most prestigious teams in Formula 1.

Additionally, his performances in the first two race weekends were affected by significant floor damage—one during qualifying in Australia and another during the race in China. The first occurred when he took too aggressive a line over the curb at Turn 6 during Q1, while the second resulted from picking up debris from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari on the opening lap.

Now, the first true test awaits. Suzuka is one of the most beautiful and historic circuits, but at the same time, it is also one of the most difficult, especially for a rookie. For this Japanese Grand Prix, Antonelli wants to refine his driving style. He aims to focus on his weaknesses to get as close as possible to Russell.

“The main issue is that I tend to enter corners much more aggressively than George. I realize and acknowledge that I don’t yet have enough confidence in the car in that specific phase. I should be pushing it to the limit every time to lower my lap times.”

“Another aspect I need to work on is tire preparation during the out lap. If I can heat the tires properly to bring them into the optimal operating window, I would feel more grip, which would give me greater confidence at the wheel. Suzuka? The fast corners are a bit scary. The first lap in a Formula 1 car here will be pretty wild.”