As Mercedes held on to their FP pace, Kimi Antonelli set himself up for success after qualifying P4 for the F1 Singapore GP. The Italian rookie had a good FP3 before the Qualifying session, despite his issues with the track on Friday. In an attempt to challenge for a pole position, Antonelli set multiple purple sectors throughout Qualifying.
The Mercedes rookie has had a good debut season so far. Unfortunately, he gathered a few DNFs in his first full season F1 campaign. Nevertheless, amounting to a total of 78 points, he managed to keep up with the more experienced drivers on the grid. Currently P7 in the Drivers’ Championship, Kimi Antonelli set himself up as an impressive contender.
Qualifying from the #12 cockpit
The F1 Singapore GP Qualifying session brought quite good results for both Antonelli and his teammate, George Russell. However, the Italian ended up feeling quite disheartened after his Q3 laps left him with much to be desired.
“Disappointing, to be honest,” admitted the Mercedes driver before settling on an explaination for his hard feelings. “I had a strong Q1, a strong Q2 and it all fell apart in the Q3. Just trying to push a bit too much on both laps and just leaving a lot of lap time on the table. I had a lot of moments, way too many.
Just a shame because we had a real shot before today.”
During his post-qualifying print media interviews, Kimi Antonelli ended up explaining what went well with Mercedes’ setup this weekend.
Throughout many years in Formula 1, the British team always struggled in hot weather. Yet, the F1 Singapore GP is considered a heat hazard, and Antonelli managed to find pace among the high temperatures:
“Well, you know, obviously it’s true that maybe with hot conditions we struggle a bit more. But I think this track has pushed us pretty well so far. Obviously, on the long run, we don’t know yet how it’s going to be. Because I did a few laps yesterday, but no one really did a long run in Free Practice. It’s going to be a bit of an unknown, but we’ll do our best.”
Progress since the start of the season
While F1 drivers often push themselves to the limit, sometimes this drive can make them overlook their improvements. Despite his disappointment surrounding the F1 Singapore GP Qualifying, Kimi Antonelli took a moment to appreciate the progress he made during the last three rounds.
“No, no, for sure. I mean, I’m having, you know, again, third weekend in a row where in qualifying we’re strong. We’re finding our rhythm. You know, the quality thing was the first time in this track. So, it was nice to get up to the rhythm pretty quick. Because I felt strong in Q1 and Q2, I could see it; it was there. Just to miss out, obviously, is a shame.”
Knowing that the Marina Bay Street Circuit calls for some tight racing, Antonelli shared his prospects for Sunday’s race. Since the Italian will be starting in P4, his hopes are high: “Well, you know, let’s see. You know, as I said before, the long run is a bit of an unknown. But, hopefully, we can have a good start and then set a good pace.”
Disappointed to miss out on a first pole
Both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell took advantage of Mercedes’ good fortune during the F1 Singapore GP Qualifying. After his Q1 and Q2 outings, the Italian driver was a great candidate for pole position. Unfortunately, his luck ran out in Q3.
With his teammate claiming that top spot instead, Antonelli was left ruing his excessive confidence that had him prone to mistakes:
“No, I mean, Q3 was very disappointing on my side. Both laps were really, were quite bad. Just, you know, just trying to do too much. I overdrived in both laps. And in the first lap in Q3, in Turn 7, I went off on the kerb and I bottomed and then just lost the rear again in the next corner. And then the rest of the lap was quite poor.
“So, it’s a shame because I thought it was, you know, we had a shot for pole today. But definitely, you know, the others did a better job. And on my side, I didn’t put things together.”
Avoiding issues with heat
As the F1 Singapore GP is one of the worst tracks in terms of heat, Antonelli and Mercedes managed to avoid any taxing issues. The 19-year-old offered some explanations as his team seemingly exceeded their own expectations:
“Yeah, I mean, so far the track has suited us, you know. I think, first of all, it was, well, today was a bit hotter than yesterday. But still, I think, you know, with also the resurfacing, it helped us. So, tomorrow, of course, in the race is another story, but we’ll see tomorrow.”
Nonetheless, Kimi Antonelli was overall happy with his starting position for the F1 Singapore GP. While he felt like he missed out on pole, the rookie remained hopeful, despite the small amount of data on race pace:
“Yeah, I mean, tomorrow, obviously, we’ll start in a good position. Yeah, it’s just a shame because we had a real shot today. But, yeah, I mean, we’ll see how the race pace is going to be. And we’ll try to do our best.”
One of the only long runs in FP
With everyone preoccupied with figuring out the best setups for Qualifying, many teams chose to prioritise flying laps over long runs. Even if he only qualified P4 for the F1 Singapore GP, Kimi Antonelli was one of the few who tried a couple of heavy fuel stints.
As issues of traffic arose in his response to race pace predictions, the Italian chose to focus on the learning he did get done.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously, as you said, I’m probably the one who did the longest long run in FP2. Which was good learning. And, yeah, of course, tomorrow is going to be another story. We’re going to be in traffic. But, hopefully, we can gain a few positions at the start and then set a good pace.”
Despite the disappointment surrounding his Qualifying result, it seems like Mercedes performs well in the hot temperatures at the Marina Bay Circuit. Going into tomorrow with some of the most race pace data, Kimi Antonelli will try his absolute best to regain a few of the lost positions.
