Final disappointment
It wasn’t a perfect Saturday for the World Championship leader, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, in Hungary: the Italian Mercedes driver secured fourth position on the grid – which could change depending on the outcome of the investigation hanging over Lewis Hamilton’s head – but was evidently hindered by the yellow flag displayed on the last corner by the marshals following Max Verstappen’s spin.
Speaking to Sky Sport F1 after the session, Antonelli was very clear about it: “I have to say that the lap was for P3 – he observed – I think I would have still been a tenth behind Lando’s time. The last corner, where Max was stopped with the yellow flag, I backed off. The yellow flag came out just as I was entering the corner and distracted me. I also lost quite a bit of time through the corner. Also because even the lap before, I had done the last corner badly. There was a bit to gain there. It’s a shame, because it was a difficult session. We struggled with tire temperature, especially in Q2. We were too far behind and had to make a gigantic step for Q3. It was still a lesson. I believe that today, without everything that happened, we could have fought for pole“.
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There’s the pace to dream
Regarding the Grand Prix, however, Antonelli is confident he can fight for the top step of the podium: “Certainly, the race pace is strong. Race pace has never been our real problem. This weekend, the single lap was more [the problem]. It’s a shame, because starting third is better than starting fourth, also because that way you start on the clean side. Let’s say I would have been happier if I had finished third. But tomorrow we can still achieve a good result. We will try to make a good start and set a good pace,” he concluded.
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