Kimi Antonelli inviting his schoolmates to the F1 paddock on Friday in Imola was well documented in the days leading up to this past weekend’s GP. The young Italian was fully embracing the occasion. Having been born and raised so close to the Bologna circuit, Antonelli was inevitably greeted with overwhelming support in the grandstand and surrounding area. Sadly, a DNF due to a throttle control meant his race ended early. Antonelli has since said that his approach offtrack at the Imola GP compromised his efforts on it.
Mercedes encountered an issue in F1 Imola GP
A poor effort in qualifying meant the Mercedes driver was always up against it. Starting in P13, he chose the Hard tyre – which differed to his teammate George Russell’s approach. After a strong start, Mercedes encountered an issue. Both drivers were limited by rear overheating and dropped backwards.
A disappointing way for the Italian driver to end his first home F1 GP at Imola
Antonelli’s luck looked to have changed when a mid-race Virtual Safety Car allowed an easy stop for Antonelli to switch to Hard. However, not long after that a Safety Car was deployed. This time it was due to the stricken Mercedes of Antonelli on track. A disappointing way for the Italian driver to end his first home F1 Grand Prix.
“It was a shame to finish like this,” explained Antonelli post-race in the print media pen at Imola. “We were lucky with the VSC but obviously it was also the risk of trying their alternative strategy and then on the medium already after 2, 3 laps I started to have the issues with the throttle and started to have less power on the straights but it was a bit inconsistent as well because one lap the power was okay but then another lap I was losing a lot and it was it was not easy and then unfortunately it went off completely and it’s okay to end up like this but yeah now I need to review better what happened this whole weekend in order to be back stronger in Monaco.”
Had there been too much noise around the weekend?
No driver ever wants to have a DNF but for it to come in Imola of all places was a bitter pill for Antonelli to swallow. Due to the significance of the venue, the Mercedes teenager was then asked whether there had been too much noise around the weekend.
“No, I mean, I absolutely love the support of the fans I just think on my side I didn’t manage energy that well and that compromised definitely the performance on track but was a really good lesson because I could feel it I was not as relaxed was a bit more tense while driving so you know ahead of the next home race was a really good lesson but now you know we will focus on Monaco because it’s gonna be important to be on top of the game.”
Mercedes did not have the pace at Imola GP
As much as Antonelli may wish to have changed things, the truth is that Mercedes did not have the pace to challenge near the front today. The 18-year-old made a good start despite being on the Hard compound – so certainly a positive there. However, the speed in the car was not there and instead he found himself looking in his mirror at Lewis Hamilton – instead of being able to get in the mix with those ahead. Antonelli reflected on these struggles in his F1 Imola GP post-race comments. However, in the way as has been used to seeing this season – he also maintained a positive outlook.
“Well, the thing is on the hard – stuck in the DRS train – and also driving dirty air was not easy. But I think overall was good to the defence on Lewis but then on the Medium as I said I had issue pretty much straight away. So, a bit hard to say with the pace overall I think the weekend was probably the worst in terms of performance.”
Working to understand the issues on Antonelli’s car
In the meantime, Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director, sought to explain in the post-race media release where Antonelli’s issue came from: “We’re working to understand the issues on Kimi’s car, but the throttle pedal was gradually deteriorating and eventually the system switched off for safety. That problem is unlikely to be too challenging to solve in time for Monaco thankfully.”
Time is not on their side
Mercedes have a bigger concern though. On another hot race day, they encountered poor grip and degradation throughout. The team know they’ve got to get on top of that quickly. However, with Monaco around the corner – time is not on their side.
Time however, is on the side of Antonelli. The teenager has the full backing of Mercedes and they expect him to make mistakes. His experience in Imola will certainly serve him well. Although, whether Antonelli gets the opportunity to race in front of his Bologna home support in future remains to be seen. This is due to a lot of speculation that Imola will leave the F1 calendar. The Bologna driver unsurprisingly sees the value of the historic venue.
“It would be a shame to not have Imola anymore on the calendar I think it’s an amazing track and it’s not my lucky track because in four years I always had, each year, I had always an issue. So, it’s not my lucky track but I still love it. The layout is amazing and it would be cool to have it on the calendar in the in the future years.”
Antonelli has already shown in a handful of F1 races that he looks set to also be around for many years. This is the time to make mistakes and the 18-year-old has shown he is going to learn from them. Such an attitude is sure to ensure that the number of Antonelli fans in the crowd will only ever increase.
