Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli stunned the paddock at the F1 Japanese GP as the ‘youngest race leader’ in Formula 1, while also finishing P6.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli went above and beyond for Mercedes at the F1 Japanese GP, securing the rookie P6 behind teammate George Russell and the title of youngest race leader.
The ‘big click’ for Antonelli
Speaking to the media after the F1 Japanese GP, Antonelli was very pleased with his P6 finish, comparing his results from the Chinese GP. “I’m much, much happier with today. Much better than China,” said the Italian driver. “I was really happy about the pace. You know, finally, we showed some good pace, consistency, especially in the hard.”
“On the medium, the first 15 laps were a little bit of a struggle. But then, once I got in pre-air, the pace improved quite a lot. And then, once I went to the hard, it was another step forward. So, I’m really happy with that.”
The Mercedes driver, who qualified in P6, stated that everything just fell into place for him. “Qualifying was a big click,” he said.
“Because I was able to, already in qualifying, to feel the car more and push it more, and today was another step forward. And I’m really looking forward to explore even more in the next few weekends, because now, I have the feeling that I can again play with the car.
“Something that I couldn’t really do in the previous two weekends. Just because I was definitely a bit more tense while driving but now, of course, I’m getting more experience with the tyres and the car itself.
“So, I’m able to feel it more as well. So, definitely a good boost of confidence over the next weekend.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s ‘really good experience’
On Lap 22, Antonelli blitzed ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris as they went into the pits, securing the pole position of the race and the title of youngest race leader, a title held by Max Verstappen.
Even if it was only held for 9 laps, that was never the original plan.
Antonelli continued further and said:
“I have to tell you the plan was different. It was to stop earlier. But, was the pace was improving lap by lap and consistent, we decided to step.
“Because we had no threat from behind, and then, we just tried something different, and I’m not going to lie, at one point, on medium, it started drizzling. So, I was really hoping for some rain, but unfortunately, it didn’t come, but at the same time, I cannot complain because today was a really good experience.”
The ‘good feeling’ strategy
Antonelli and Mercedes used a one-stop strategy to secure the positions starting on the mediums and switching over to hard compound tyres to finish off the race.
Antonelli, after the race, said to Mercedes:
“Today was a good race from my side. I am happy with how it went and the speed we were able to show. Once I got in free air, the pace really improved, and I was able to extend my stint on the medium tyre. That was a good feeling. Once we switched to the Hard tyre, the car still felt positive. I was able to put in some consistent lap times.
“I was catching the cars ahead, but ran out of time in the end to get on the back of them. It was also a nice feeling to lead the race for a few laps and become the youngest driver in F1 history to have done so. The next goal is to do that on the only lap that matters: the final one!”
Antonelli is ready to make his mark after the F1 Japanese GP
Looking ahead to Bahrain, Antonelli is already feeling “confident” that he will become more comfortable with the car, to deliver consistent results.
“Well, definitely, I will go into the weekend with a different kind of confidence. Because I know the track already. We’ve done testing.”
“So, definitely, I will be more comfortable with the car and the track. Of course, the condition, I think, will be much different than testing. It’s going to be much, much hotter.”
“So, another good learning. But, also, I feel quite lucky to have someone like George. Because he’s really been pushing me to do even better. So, definitely, really looking forward to seeing what we can do next weekend.”
