The driver from Bologna, who had secured fourth fastest but was then handed a one-place grid penalty, should be pleased, yet he laments a conservative lap after a mistake during the first Q3 run. Kimi expects Norris to fight back, though he’ll struggle in dirty air and will have to contend with Charles Leclerc if he aims for the podium.
Kimi Antonelli’s determination was clearly on display at the end of yesterday’s qualifying session in Sakhir. After what was his best Saturday performance so far, the Mercedes driver wasn’t particularly satisfied, despite the pats on the back and repeated “well done” remarks from team personnel. Fourth place (which became fifth following a penalty for the Mercedes team) came with a lap just two-tenths off his teammate Russell.
Happy? Not really. “The mistake on the first set of soft tyres didn’t help – Kimi explained, referring to an error in the early minutes of Q3 – I wasted a run, and that lowered my confidence. From that point, I had to go all-in on the second set, meaning I wasn’t in the best condition to extract the maximum.” Antonelli’s regret stems from not being able to push fully on the final tyre set, as he lacked a banker lap that would’ve given him some security.
“Going into Turn 1, even if you tell yourself ‘I have to brake at the same point,’ it’s really hard to do it, because right after a mistake your brain tries to keep you from repeating what happened just minutes earlier (Kimi had locked up at Turn 1), and you end up being a bit more conservative, not pushing the braking to the limit. Even at Turns 10 and 11 I was slightly more cautious on the brakes because I was afraid of locking up. So in the end the lap was a bit more conservative, but better that than not completing a lap at all.”
The conditions at the start of today’s race could suit Mercedes well, with temperatures around ten degrees lower than on Friday and Saturday. Hopes for a podium? “It’s going to be a very tight fight – Kimi admitted – I don’t think we’ll be able to challenge McLaren, but we’ll be battling with the Ferraris. I think it’ll be a long race with some question marks over tyre management.”
Between Kimi Antonelli and a realistic podium shot lies the Lando Norris factor. “He’ll fight back – Kimi concluded – but he’ll be running in dirty air, and that’s not easy for anyone, McLaren included. We’ve seen in previous races how much dirty air impacts performance, but at the same time we’ve also seen how strong McLaren is, so we’ll see how the race unfolds.”
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