Antonelli on holiday as a leader
Kimi Antonelli arrives in Hungary with the relaxed face of someone who is leading the World Championship and knows he will remain there even after the summer break. At Spa-Francorchamps, the Bolognese driver secured his sixth seasonal victory, and now has a 45-point lead over Lewis Hamilton and a 50-point lead over George Russell.
To go on holiday with an even brighter smile, Antonelli is looking for the maximum result at the Hungaroring, where, however, he is not arriving as the favourite. The Hungarian track, in fact, could enhance the characteristics of the Ferrari, which is very competitive in slow corners, while McLaren also promises to be a protagonist thanks to the updates brought to the car.
Antonelli’s words
“Certainly Ferrari will do well, McLaren for me will also do well with the update,” these are the words of Antonelli, who sees himself well in the role of the hunter. “It won’t be easy, it’s a track with many slow corners, but also many changes of direction. We’ll see, I won’t do FP1, so the second session will be very important. For me, starting as an underdog is almost better, it gives me more pleasure to be the underdog.”
While Ferrari will have a “Macarena” adapted to high-downforce circuits, Mercedes will not bring updates: “Something will arrive at Zandvoort. But in the future, we will have a big one. The car is still doing well, when you have this luck the team can take more time to develop and bring a big package, instead of bringing something small every weekend that sometimes doesn’t even work.”
Even in Monte-Carlo, as Antonelli himself highlighted in the press conference, Mercedes was considered an underdog by insiders. However, the number 12 driver defied all predictions by securing pole position and defending it in the two starts executed on the narrow streets of the Principality.
The Hungarian GP therefore represents a new test for Antonelli, called to confirm his World Championship leadership before the summer break. Even without starting as the favourite, the Mercedes driver has already shown this season that he can surprise even in the most difficult situations.
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