Kimi Antonelli is pleased with sixth place in Barcelona qualifying. George Russell is two tenths ahead of him, but above all, he managed to put behind him the weekends in Imola and Monaco, where he struggled more than expected.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is starting over from qualifying in Montmeló. At the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, the Italian talent recorded the sixth fastest time in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, once again making a good impression as he had done before the back-to-back rounds in Imola and Monte Carlo.
The 18-year-old Mercedes driver also set a lap time just a couple of tenths slower than George Russell, a much more experienced driver who has now fully become the leading man of the team managed by Toto Wolff, following Lewis Hamilton’s departure at the end of last season.
Kimi Antonelli said he was satisfied with his qualifying result not so much for the position itself, but for having put behind him the two unexpectedly complicated weekends at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit and in the Principality.
“After the last two weekends, you lose a bit of confidence and, for sure, it takes some time to get back into the right rhythm. But I’m happy I managed to do it in Q3 and to get sixth place. Obviously, I always want to achieve a better result, but as I said, after two weekends like those, it was a good way to bounce back and now I’m focused on tomorrow, on the race.”
In the race, Andrea expects to have to manage the tyres. It will be a matter of rhythm and understanding how much to push the tyres to make them last while still extracting the right potential to remain competitive. That’s why Mercedes focused heavily on long runs in the first two free practice sessions on Friday.
“It will be a tough race due to the temperatures, it will be very hot. The goal is to keep the tyres in good condition for as long as possible, which is why we did a lot of long runs in practice. We gathered a lot of data. But the rivals are very strong, we’ll see.”
Kimi Antonelli, like many other drivers, also noticed the limited impact of the new front wing. Of course, the balance has changed, but not in a drastic way. Hamilton was the one who expressed the idea most clearly (“A waste of money”), but many, in their own way, believe the new wings haven’t brought any real change.
“The new wings changed things a bit, but not drastically. It’s not a radical change. It’s harder to find the right balance for the car, but it hasn’t affected team performance. The pecking order is the same as before.”
Leave a Reply