Kimi Antonelli hopes to overcome a disappointing Mexico Grand Prix qualifying session with a good night’s sleep, but admits his Formula 1 title nerves have led to him driving with unwanted tension.
The Italian was just 0.001 seconds slower than FP3 headliner Lando Norris earlier in the day, but in qualifying he was half a step behind Mercedes teammate George Russell and failed to find the right confidence throughout the session.
Antonelli ran with “built” laps during qualifying, adding a warm-up lap before running a timed lap to warm up his tires, but Russell’s decision to forgo them on his final run in Q3 brought the Briton to the cusp of pole. Lewis Hamilton then edged his former teammate by just 0.009 seconds at the end of the session to claim his first Ferrari pole – and his 105th of his F1 career.
Additionally, Antonelli had to battle illness this weekend; he missed his media functions on Thursday due to fever, but slowly recovered throughout the weekend. He says he still doesn’t feel at his best and lacks energy, but he also believes the constant questions about the F1 title have led him to feel slightly tense this weekend.
“I feel very tired. I haven’t fully recovered yet and, to be honest, it hasn’t been an easy weekend,” Antonelli explained.
“I’ve definitely been a little more tense than usual, especially when you keep hearing, wherever you go, at all times of the day, the same thing. And people tell me it’s already happening, and knowing me, I’ve tried to block out that noise as much as possible.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images
“But it hasn’t been easy, and I was definitely a little more tense today. But I felt good in Q2, especially with the worn tires, but then in Q3, with the new tires, I struggled to do a lap, just to find the grip.
“But I think we have a good chance tomorrow, still P4, and we saved a set of new tires, so hopefully we can use that and move forward.”
Antonelli explained that his illness earlier this week was “very serious – I had a high fever and stomach problems” – but that he is now simply not getting enough sleep. He says this led to him making mistakes during his laps, which may have led to him driving within himself to get a strong qualifying lap on the board.
Heading into Sunday’s race, he felt that Mercedes might not be able to match Ferrari in terms of race pace over the 71 laps, but he is just hoping for a clean run to the Turn 1 pinch point before tackling the rest of the grand prix.
“Turn 1 is long so it will be important to get off to a good start and hopefully we can gain a few places,” he added.
“Of course we will also have to stay out of trouble, because Turn 1 is always very tricky, but I think if we get a good start we have a good chance of moving forward. I think the race pace is still not as strong as Ferrari’s, but I think we can still do well.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images
“I think today fatigue was a big factor, but also, I think I didn’t really get the round done. I made a lot of mistakes here and there, so obviously it’s disappointing, but I’m going to try to sleep well tonight.
“I’m aware that I didn’t drive well. I was already going into qualifying and I wasn’t feeling good, and I felt a little bit short of energy. That’s not an excuse, but of course it doesn’t mean my best.
“I’m going to bombard myself with melatonin, so I’m hoping to get a good 10 hours of sleep. I’m just going to try to relax as much as possible. My family just arrived, so it’ll be good to have them here.
“I’m just going to try to disconnect as much as possible, go to sleep, and then I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
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