After a disappointing Q1 knockout in qualifying for the F1 Las Vegas GP, Kimi Antonelli showed strong pace on Sunday as he stormed through the field.
He crossed the line in fourth, though was demoted to P5 due to a five-second penalty for jumping the start. Antonelli was eventually promoted to third following the disqualification of both McLaren drivers. Before learning of his promotion to the final podium position, the Mercedes driver reflected positively on the race.
Pleased with bold strategy despite struggling with tyres
Antonelli and Mercedes took a bold strategy decision that paid off. The only driver to start on soft tyres, the young Italian had an early pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car on the second lap of the race. He then went to the end of the race on hard tyres, completing an impressive long stint that ended in a P3 finish.
Speaking after the F1 Las Vegas GP, Antonelli admitted how he struggled with graining on the hard tyres. He also shared his worries that the tyres would not make it to the end of the race.
“I was really, really happy with that, I think. The strategy was very risky. I was a bit concerned halfway through the race because the graining started to appear. I wasn’t so sure I would have been able to make it to the end. But then I got the team radio that we were moving to plan B, so the plan was to finish with that set. I was just trying to manage the best way as possible.”
He explained that persevering through the graining phase allowed him to later be competitive with the Ferrari and now disqualified McLaren.
“Eventually the graining started to clean up, and the time just kept coming and coming, and we were able to keep Oscar and Charles behind. Of course, with the penalty, I was a bit unlucky that I lost the fourth place, but still a strong result today.”
On a run of good form
Off the back of strong results in the F1 Sao Paulo GP and sprint, Antonelli was asked about feeling more comfortable in the car. Although happy to be finishing higher up the field, the young Italian noted the room for improvement. Antonelli noted his P17 qualifying result for the Las Vegas GP as an example.
“Definitely. The feeling is getting better and better in the car. I’ve been enjoying quite a lot lately driving the car. It’s been, obviously after Brazil, good momentum. Of course, with yesterday, it was a big shame. I was very disappointed, but today was redemption. I just need to now focus on to the next two and I really want to finish on a high.”
