Kimi Antonelli survives huge scare to reach SQ3 in Qatar: “Lucky Hadjar’s lap was deleted”. Kimi Antonelli finishes seventh in the Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying.

F1 | Thrilling Sprint Qualifying for Antonelli: his reaction – Qatar GP

Kimi Antonelli finished the Sprint Qualifying at the Qatar GP in seventh position, after a tense SQ2 session. It was a challenging qualifying for the Italian, especially considering the strong performance of his Mercedes teammate George Russell, who secured second place. Kimi Antonelli also faced a major scare during SQ2: he had effectively been eliminated after finishing the session in eleventh place. However, an error by Isack Hadjar, whose lap time was annulled, allowed Antonelli to re-enter the fight for pole.

His reaction

Speaking after the Qatar GP Sprint Qualifying, Antonelli discussed his entry into SQ3: “Seventh place in qualifying for tomorrow’s Sprint is not the starting point we wanted. It’s a tricky track, and I made a few mistakes, particularly in SQ2, where I was lucky to advance to SQ3 thanks to Hadjar’s lap being deleted.” – the Italian driver admitted.

He then reflected on the difficulties he faced during the session: “There were moments that cost me some confidence. I lost a bit of ground for SQ3. Without those incidents, we definitely could have found more rhythm and started further up the grid.”

Despite the setbacks, Kimi Antonelli remained optimistic and eager to get back on track tomorrow to achieve the best possible performance: “It was a shame not to fully exploit the car’s potential. It’s a high-grip circuit, and the car’s balance was good throughout practice and Sprint Qualifying.” – he pointed out at the end of the Qatar Sprint Qualifying session, which was held at the 5.4-kilometre Lusail International Circuit, located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha.

He also outlined where he plans to improve in preparation for tomorrow’s sessions: “Tomorrow is another day. We will analyze all the data overnight and also review my driving to understand how to improve and maximize the car’s performance. There are still good opportunities to score important points in the Sprint before the crucial qualifying session for Sunday’s race.” – the Mercedes driver concluded.