Andrea Kimi Antonelli crossed the finish line in sixth place at the Mexican Grand Prix after a chaotic race that included some team difficulties. Starting from the same position, the young rookie managed to deliver a strong performance that secured valuable points for his team.
Despite persistent complaints from George Russell during the second stint, where he claimed to be faster than Antonelli, the Italian driver remained calm and followed the team’s instructions. When Oscar Piastri closed in dangerously on the two Mercedes, George Russell requested a position swap with Antonelli to try to challenge Oliver Bearman and possibly Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.
In an attempt to secure a podium, the Brackley team asked Antonelli for a swap despite the McLaren being just a few tenths behind. Fortunately, the rookie held his position and tried his best to prevent Oscar Piastri from passing. Seeing Piastri struggle, the McLaren pit wall implemented a box-to-overtake strategy, using a lightning-fast pit stop to regain the position. After Russell’s pit stop, once everyone was back on track, the British driver continued to struggle to catch Oliver Bearman, who had delivered an outstanding race. The consistency of Haas No. 87 surprised many, including Piastri, who could not close the gap after passing the Mercedes.
Eventually, seeing the race positions, Antonelli requested another swap, which the team granted without much debate. After all this, there were few further changes, and the 19-year-old secured 8 points for Brackley. The team now aims to improve at the next race, the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Antonelli’s reflections
“Today was not an easy race. I lost positions at the first corner, and from there we started to fight, stuck in a train of cars that we weren’t fast enough to overtake,” Antonelli admitted after the Mexican GP.
“It was a shame because I think if we had gained a few positions on the first lap, we could have achieved a much better result than sixth place,” added the rookie. “It’s so difficult to follow in dirty air, but with clear air, our pace was decent.”
“We decided to swap cars in the second stint. We were trailing Bearman, and tyre degradation was getting worse. We will evaluate if it was the best decision or not, but in the end, today we didn’t have the pace to fight. Both George [Russell] and I lost ground to Oscar Piastri, who seemed faster,” he continued at the end of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“Now our focus is on Brazil, and with four races remaining, on recovering ground on Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.”
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