Kimi Antonelli lacking confidence as Austria penalty overshadows P7 effort

Kimi Antonelli’s qualifying session for the British Grand Prix was unfortunate. The Italian qualified P7, but thanks to a three-place grid penalty from his clash with Max Verstappen being carried over from the Austrian Grand Prix, he was demoted to P10.

The penalty stems from his crash on the first lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. Locking up his rear tyres going into Turn three, the Mercedes driver collided with Verstappen, ending both of their races before they’d barely begun. The stewards determined Antonelli to be fully at fault, with the driver himself also shouldering the blame.

Speaking after qualifying, Antonelli admitted he’s struggling with confidence on the fast British circuit, with a lap time almost half a second behind polesitter Verstappen.

“I think it was okay. The lap was not amazing, but I’ve been struggling the whole qualifying in high speed – just struggling with stability – and that killed a bit of confidence throughout the session,” he said. “It was tough on that side, and especially Sector two and Sector three were always a bit of a struggle because of that. Obviously, not super happy because of the penalty tomorrow, but we’ll try to build from there.

“I wouldn’t mind a wet start, just to try and get some places. But we’ll try to be ready for anything.”

Q3 saw tricky track conditions as the drivers tackled sporadic light rain and wind, resulting in unpredictable cars. Antonelli was seen discussing this subject with the reigning champion ahead of talking to the media.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images

“It was pretty difficult, especially in Q3. It was quite unpredictable, and it’s hard to predict what the balance is going to be in one corner just because the wind was so unpredictable.”

His team-mate George Russell delivered a strong performance, finishing on the second row and earning praise from team principal Toto Wolff, who admitted he’d “definitely outperformed the car here”. The rookie driver chose a “pretty similar” setup to the Briton, but opted for some key differences, with him lacking confidence on the faster parts of the track.

“On aero, he was running a bit more aggressive than me, but overall it was a little bit different. I have to be honest. I just couldn’t make the step in setup because I was lacking confidence in high-speed corners,” he admitted.

Antonelli has had a strong start to his rookie career, bearing fruit in the shape of a podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix. But his consistency leaves room for improvement. With this in mind, he hopes to yield adequate points for a team that’s just one point behind Ferrari sitting second in the constructors’ standings.

“It’s hard to say. I mean, the pace is so tight at the front. Hopefully we can have a good race, manage the target the best, and move forward. I think P7 is going to be realistic.”

Photos from British GP – Practice & Qualifying