Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes driver and current leader of the championship standings, expressed frustration after failing to secure the pole position in the qualifying session for the Dutch Grand Prix. The young driver made a mistake at the first corner that cost him valuable time.
Thus, Antonelli will start Sunday’s race from third position, only 0.133s behind the pole sitter, Lando Norris of McLaren, and 0.031s behind his teammate, George Russell, who secured second place.
In his post-qualifying remarks, Antonelli admitted that he had the chance to get the pole but a mistake at Turn 1 caused him to lose time. ‘I lost two tenths in the first sector, so it’s a pity,’ the 19-year-old driver told Sky Sports Italia. Antonelli also acknowledged that the session had been difficult, as he couldn’t find the right feel for the car, especially at the rear.
Moreover, this qualifying session adds to the setbacks that Antonelli faced over the weekend, when he suffered damage to his car during Friday’s sprint qualifying, after an incident in the penultimate corner that cost him 25 points of drop. This left him in fifth place on the grid, and despite that, he managed to finish fourth in Saturday’s race.
Despite the adversities, the acclaimed driver sees the Sunday race as an opportunity to recover and extend his lead of 53 points over Lewis Hamilton, who will start the race from fifth place. Antonelli commented that it will be crucial to have a good start and apply pressure on the drivers in front of him, besides executing an appropriate strategy during the race.
‘The mindset is the same: I have to be on the attack but also use my head. If the opportunity arises, I have to seize it. If not, I have to wait and see how the race develops,’ added Antonelli, who hopes to achieve a good result on Sunday.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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