Lewis Hamilton took 26 Grands Prix to achieve a podium with Ferrari, Andrea (or Kimi) Antonelli took 26 Grands Prix to achieve his first victory in Formula 1. An extraordinary success that provides great arguments for those who love statistics related to Italians, age, and so on, but says a lot about the way in which Antonelli came to excel. Because in the 56 magical laps of China, he showed all the qualities that project him into a dimension of a potential champion of a tomorrow perhaps closer than we imagine.
The first of these qualities is the calmness with which he managed the race. He started on pole position and didn’t flinch when Hamilton overtook him at the first corner, knowing that shortly after he would retake the lead of the race. He was racing as the Mercedes leader after Russell’s setback in qualifying and immediately stepped into the role, with the maturity of an experienced and professional driver.
Russell was the most insidious and treacherous rival, in a hidden but nervous duel during which the Englishman put together a repeated series of fast laps, all rebuffed by Antonelli with better performances, albeit by a small margin. A phenomenal reaction that knocked out both Russell’s ambitions and morale. A wound that hurts because Russell had already realized last year that he would have to share the garage with someone who had extraordinary qualities and who would challenge his caliber.
We could go on with the fact that Kimi (or Andrea) almost never repeats mistakes. He capitalizes with the strength of tranquility. And after every mistake, he returns stronger, more determined, because he is extremely analytical. The rest, namely the title ambitions, is to be lived day by day, because as the races go by, Antonelli will reposition himself within the team also in a more political dimension, a characteristic that was fundamental in the world championship won by Nico Rosberg at the expense of Hamilton, to give an idea.
Certainly praise goes to Mercedes, which allowed Italy to have a potential champion, for having believed in him, for having understood it a long time ago. Well done Toto Wolff, very well done Gian Carlo Minardi and his son Giovanni, people with a feline instinct who had pointed him out, but it is essential to remember that if this Mercedes is so strong and has created a car with enormous merits (among these is the internal combustion engine, very consistent, with the compression ratio that increases when hot: an intuition that others have not grasped), the credit is also due to a part of Ferrari that the Maranello system no longer wanted, such as technical director James Allison, such as strategy & development director Simone Resta, plus many other Italians working at Brackley.
Read more Antonelli’s first victory: the story of a historic weekend
That said, Ferrari still gave us a day of great spectacle, on the truly demanding Shanghai track. The flash at the start from Hamilton and Leclerc was exciting; in this, the Prancing Horse technicians were brilliant. Lewis expects more power to exploit on the straight, and here we will see if Ferrari will also be strong in developments.
But in the meantime we were able to admire the true Hamilton, the strongest since he arrived at Ferrari, capable of putting behind him a Leclerc who doesn’t much like the Chinese track. In terms of performance, Ferrari defended itself well with the Pirelli Mediums but struggled with the Hards, meaning the gap with Mercedes is not just at the Power Unit level.
Amidst these technical notes, there was the breathtaking duel between Hamilton and Leclerc who overtook each other as many as eight times, touching slightly on one occasion. And it was wise that the pit wall did not intervene in any way. It is clear that the rivalry will continue throughout the year, with Hamilton showing that he can return to having title ambitions and Leclerc who will not let go, but as a purebred fighter, he knows that these cars, with their relative thermal-electrical complications, do not allow him to express his immense driving qualities: it is evident that in the new era of F1 there is a lot of comedy related to energy recovery which on one hand conditions the pilots’ bursts of skill and on the other – for those who just watch – still offers a notable show.
And in this regard, once the euphoria for Antonelli and Ferrari has subsided, it should be remembered that as many as four drivers failed to start, with the world champion McLaren immediately sidelined. Agreed, the fault lies with the technicians, but are we sure these regulations were thought through to the end? Someone, not just at McLaren, will have to ask themselves questions and perhaps offer a reasonable solution that saves a piece of the sport we miss.
Read more Alonso: “From the 20th lap I could no longer feel my hands and feet. Honda must do its duty”
