Antonelli happy with the pace
Don’t be fooled by the practice standings in Hungary: Kimi Antonelli is there, despite the time that relegates him to 13th place in FP2, 2″ behind Lewis Hamilton‘s Ferrari. The World Championship leader, who handed over the wheel in FP1 to Frederik Vesti in the morning, used the 60 minutes of afternoon action at the Hungaroring to accumulate kilometers and gain confidence with the single-seater on the winding Hungarian circuit.
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The results of the Italian’s work were mostly seen on race pace, also because Antonelli did not complete any fast laps on soft tires in qualifying. In the first time attack he had to lift off due to the red flag caused by Franco Colapinto’s accident, in the second, traffic was decisive first, and then an error in turn 6. Certainly, the gap also suffered by George Russell (1″ from Hamilton) worries the Bolognese driver for tomorrow, but Antonelli is confident for the GP.
Antonelli’s words
“It was a difficult first day here in Budapest, and probably it was like that for everyone. I skipped FP1, Fred did a great job behind the wheel,” Antonelli commented. “In FP2 I struggled to find the right balance. This was even more evident during the qualifying work“.
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“The long run went better, I think the tires were in a more favorable temperature window. We also collected a lot of data and learnings from today, which we will work on overnight. I can’t wait to get back on track tomorrow. FP3 will be an important hour, we hope to be able to put the car in better conditions and try to get into the fight for pole position. We know it won’t be easy, given the gap we had today, but we will give our best“.
Friday’s day therefore does not compromise Antonelli’s ambitions. With an additional practice session available, the 2006-born driver will have the opportunity to improve his feeling with the Mercedes and seek a more competitive placement when it truly matters.
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