Andrea Kimi Antonelli breathes a sigh of relief after taking pole at Suzuka, having feared that the euphoria of his first victory might distract him. The Italian gains even more self-confidence after beating his teammate, who this time was free of technical problems. Antonelli and Russell will fight for the lead in the run down to Turn 1, but Mercedes has already warned its drivers not to be reckless.
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Mercedes’ recommendation
Antonelli reflects on the meaning of his second career pole with the Italian press: “This pole is better for me than the other one, because anyway [in Shanghai] George had problems, even though I had some with the wing, which is why the lap was still good. It’s nice to be on pole again after China. It was important, because after winning the race I was a bit afraid, I absolutely didn’t want to let my guard down. I knew it would take just a moment to get carried away and lose focus. I’m happy I managed to keep it on what I had to do. Now we think about tomorrow”.
Suzuka immediately becomes an important race, with the lead of the world championship at stake on the eve of the month-long break. Much will be decided at the standing start: “First of all, we’ll have to see how the getaway is at the start, but the team has already told us to stay calm and not cause trouble, because anyway we are first and second again. It will be important to score heavy points, both for us and for the team”.
The comparison with Russell
The race for Antonelli starts with excellent premises, having found a good feeling with the W17: “I felt good in the car. I managed to maximize the grip, but also the battery, which George, for example, struggled with a bit more”. The Italian believes there was room to set an even better time: “It was a clean and calm lap, every attempt I pushed more. On the last lap I was a tenth down, then I locked up at Turn 11 and lost everything. A pity about that”.
The Italian’s maturity also emerges from the coolness with which he analyzes the areas where his teammate is still superior, despite having beaten him in qualifying: “I could have done a bit better in the first sector in the fast corners, I could have pushed a bit more. For the rest, I still think this qualifying went better than the others, because I managed to improve lap after lap. However, there is still work to do, because George still makes a bit of a difference in the fast corners compared to me. It’s not a big effect, just a little bit, but it still makes a difference”.
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The challenge of energy management
Overall, Antonelli is also growing in energy management, an area where after China he admitted to being behind Russell: “It’s very difficult to get everything to fit together properly, between how much to push in the corners and how to manage the battery. In my lap I gained a tenth on the straights compared to him [Russell], but it was also because of the driving style, which is a bit different”. Furthermore, the Mercedes driver manages to curb his exuberance, accepting the counter-intuitive nature of this Formula 1, where paradoxically pushing more is counterproductive.
“It’s not the best, because in certain points you’d want to go faster, but then you’d be penalized on the straights”, explains Kimi. “Sometimes you’d want to get on the gas earlier, but it doesn’t pay off. In fact, especially if you have a bit of wheel spin, it penalizes you, which is why it’s not easy to maximize the result. This qualifying is over, I managed to do a better job, but for example in Melbourne I was penalized. Here it went well for me, but I have to say that anyway the lap was still fun, because we were pushing in the corners”.
Watch out for McLaren
A potential race win would give Antonelli the lead of the constructors’ standings. For the Italian, however, it is too early to say that the world championship will be a private matter between the two Mercedes drivers: “Surely my teammate is my first rival, because he is the only one who has the same car as mine. Now we are in a phase where we have an advantage over the others, so he is my most direct opponent. This does not call into question the fact that others can get significantly closer. We must stay on guard, because for now it’s me and my teammate, but McLaren, for example, is still using the Barcelona aerodynamic package. I imagine the next one they bring will be a significant step. We need to stay on guard. The others are behind, but the situation can change in an instant”.
