Mercedes ring the changes to aid Antonelli – Kimi Antonelli was billed as the next Formula One star driver by Mercedes and his arrival in the sport was made even more high profile given he was replacing the Brackley legend that is Lewis Hamilton. Like Verstappen, the Italian had little experience of FIA international junior formula racing and come the early flyaway races this year, he looked impressive.
The eighteen year old Italian was sixth place or better in each of the opening six rounds, with the exception of Bahrain. Round seven was his first home race in Italy as an F1 driver but the wheels came off at the Emilia-Romagne Grand Prix weekend.
Antonelli was bombarded by the Italian media along with friends and family and he dropped the ball both in qualifying and failed to finish the race. There were crashes in Monaco and he finished Verstappen’s race in Austria before in Zandvoort he took out Charles Leclerc whilst attempting a highly risky overtake on the low line in turn three.
Wolff: Antoelli “Underwhelming”
There was the highlight of his first podium in Canada, on a weekend where his team mate won the race and the Mercedes car was most connotative due to a combination of factors. Yet come Zandvoort Kimi was crashing again – this time ending the race of Charles Leclerc – and the following weekend his race in Monza was described by Toto Wolff as “underwhelming” after Antonlli was penalised by the stewards for forcing Alex Albon off the track.
Wolff said: “Underwhelming this weekend. Underwhelming. You can’t put the car in the gravel bed and expect to be there. All of the race was underwhelming. It doesn’t change anything on my support and confidence in his future because. I believe he’s going to be very, very, very good. But today was… underwhelming.”
Yet next time out in Baku as top drivers struggled with the conditions and Leclerc and Piastri putt their cars into the wall, Antonelli shone – qualifying fourth ahead of his team mate – and briefly held third after overtaking Liam Lawson before he was undercut by team mate George Russell coming home just outside the podium positions and just seven seconds behind his team mate who had the preferred race strategy.
Mercedes accept some responsibility
Mercedes have now accepted some of the responsibility for his poor showing inn Monza given Antonelli’s race preparation was cut short by the team. “He came in for a simulator session, and we had some issues that meant he wasn’t really able to do the prep there,” explained Andrew Shovlin the team’s trackside performance director.
The Mercedes’ technical director, James Allison believes Kimi has turned the corner from his European racing season woes and that changes made by the team contributed to a consummate performance in Azerbaijan.
Speaking on the team’s YouTube channel, Alison now reveals: “I think the approach from all of us, really, was to make consistent sessions the order of the day, understanding with Kimi and that focus and attention on those free practice sessions is crucial for arriving in qualifying in good shape, which is crucial for making the race work out for you.”
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More stable practice sessions
The team is intent on having the pre-race simulation work improved meaning the car arrives in a better performance window lessening the experimentation required during the practice sessions.
“Any slip-ups in free practice are much more costly than they appear, so the concentration on that needs to be collectively high from all of us. And Kimi certainly played a champion part in making sure that he really didn’t put a foot wrong,” adds Allison.
Unlike his seniors and betters, Antonelli’s weekend in Baku was almost flawless. He took his time building up pace in practice one, rather than taking risks and his P12 in the session at first sight may have looked unerwhelming – to coin a phrase.
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Antonelli shines while Piastri hits the wall
Yet come Friday afternoon Kimi was on the money and finished the session in P4 behind his team mate by by a mere one hundredth of a second.
“I think he went up an escape road once during the weekend, but absolutely not a scratch on his car into qualifying, which was pretty difficult. You saw how many red flags there were in qualifying,” Allison continues.
“Kimi came through that in good nick, did a good lap. He was within one gusty corner away from being P2 on the grid and had a good weekend as a consequence.”
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Singapore a test of Kimi’s resilience
Up next is the gruelling Singapore Grand Prix, which many drivers describe as the most physical on the F1 calendar. The 23 corners of the circuit are relentless and require peak concentration whilst extreme heat and humidity can see cockpit temperatures rise to between 50-60 degrees celsius.
Despite the drinks bottle the drivers finish the race dehydrated with some reportedly losing several kilograms of body weight due to the loss of body fluids.
The race is held at night and the teams keep their personnel on European time despite the six hour time difference and the drivers undergo specialised physical training including extended time in Sauna’s to acclimatise to the heat.
The coming weekend will be a huge challenge for Antonelli, but Mercedes now believe he has turned a corner on a summer littered with mistakes and misfortune.
Calls for McLaren to back Piastri as No.1
Max Verstappen sent shockwaves through the McLaren team at the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix with his charge to the chequered flag victory. His remarkable pole position lap sparked concern in Andrea Stella’s mind as the boss of the Woking team immediately observed the world champion once considered out of this year’s title race, is firmly back in the hunt.
When asked by reporters of the possibility of Max winning a record fifth consecutive drivers’ championship, the Italian was quick to respond: “A firm yes. Can you write it capital [letters]? First of all, he’s Max Verstappen -world champion for the last four years. In a fast car.”
That something Stella saw was not merely another moment of Verstappen brilliance in qualifying, but the fact that the Red Bull Monza upgrades were having a huge impact on the performance of the RB21…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
