The Bahrain GP is over, and for the first time since his debut, Antonelli finished outside the points, crossing the line in 11th place after a difficult race.
For Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the Bahrain GP weekend started well, with strong lap times in free practice and a fourth-place finish in qualifying. Shortly after, both Mercedes drivers received a one-place grid penalty for queuing at the pit exit during the red flag in Q3.
As a result, he started fifth in today’s race and got off the line fairly well. Unfortunately, during the race he had to make three pit stops, plus one extra under the Safety Car, which caused him to lose more and more positions. From a solid top-10 position, after the third stop he had to fight hard to climb back into the points.
In the end, for the first time in his F1 career, he missed the points and finished 11th at Sakhir. Now he’s fully focused on next weekend’s Saudi Arabian GP.
Kimi Antonelli’s words
Was the Safety Car the issue in Kimi Antonelli’s race? The Italian doesn’t blame it. In his view, the overall decision-making led to today’s result. Pit stops made at the wrong times cost him a lot of track position. Also, the position he found himself in when exiting the pit lane caused excessive tire wear.
Antonelli stated: “Well, I don’t think the Safety Car… I don’t think [it was to blame]. We need to review all the decisions that were made. The why. Everything.”
“Because after every pit stop, I was further and further back,” added the young Mercedes driver. “It definitely wasn’t an easy race, because every time I exited the pit lane, I had to push very hard to regain positions, and that led to even more tire degradation.”
One clear example of his situation came when he found himself behind Max Verstappen. He stayed behind the four-time world champion for a few laps while Max Verstappen tried to overtake Esteban Ocon. Eventually, Kimi Antonelli passed the Dutchman and then the Haas ahead.
The Italian commented: “Yes, [that’s a good example]. Let’s say dirty air really makes a difference. Especially on a track like this, where degradation is extremely high and doesn’t help. For sure, there are aspects I still need to work on. I think after the pit stops I pushed too hard trying to recover quickly, and I definitely could have managed that more gradually.” – he explained at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix – “But in any case, yeah, it wasn’t an easy race. Luckily, we have Jeddah next week, so now we focus on next weekend,” concluded the 18-year-old.
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