Antonelli hopes for a better weekend in Spa: “All those issues are very frustrating”

Written by Bo Helmus

Antonelli has lost out on two likely victories due to reliability issues | Credit: Formula One

This weekend, it is time for the Belgian Grand Prix. The race where everything can happen. Someone who will be looking for some good results once more, is Kimi Antonelli. After an absolutely amazing start to the season, he has had some bad luck in the more recent weekends. 

Where the Mercedes looked like the easy world champion at pre-season testing in Bahrein, they are showing more and more reliability-issues. “Of course, it’s very frustrating,” the Italian starts the interview. “But this is motorsport, so things like this happen.

The British Grand Prix started off well for Antonelli, he got pole position and was looking at a win before disaster struck | Credit: Formula One

“Of course, I think now it was enough, but it’s part of motorsport. As I said, these are external factors that you cannot really control. So I just need to maximise every opportunity I get, try to maximise what I have in control, and then we’ll see what the rest will be. But it’s part of the sport, and the team are doing a tremendous job to make sure that all these issues are not happening again.”

Focus on the positives

Antonelli remains optimistic: “It was a very strong weekend overall, so that was the positive. We were up there in every session, and that was a positive, to see that the pace is good and the momentum is still there despite a few difficulties that we had previously.

Antonelli won’t let the bad luck of the recent races bring him down | Credit: Formula One

“So, yeah, that’s a real positive. On my side, I just need to deliver and try to maximise all the things that I have in my control. The rest, I cannot really do much about it, other than just try to drive as fast as I can and keep delivering in performances.”

Bad luck

Antonelli’s teammate at Mercedes, George Russell, said in an interview that he thinks it’s fair that both of them were experiencing issues. The 19-year-old mentions: “It’s really hard to judge because, yes, he’s had bad luck, for sure. Monaco was one of them. Of course, we wouldn’t have known how the race would have ended because we were both neck and neck. It was impossible to know. But for sure, yeah, he was very unlucky because at that point he was leading the race and he had to stop.

“Then there were a couple of other times that he was a bit unlucky. In my case, we were going towards a result that was almost certain. Barcelona was P2. Silverstone, we cannot know because I didn’t have a shot, but I think we would have been in the fight for it. So for sure, we know those would have been certain points.

Antonelli suffered issues with his car in Spain and Great-Britain | Credit: Formula One

“I have to say both of us had bad luck. One of us had it in more critical moments at times, but as I said, it’s the way it is. This is how motorsport goes, and we all know that. We could see ourselves how this can shift very quickly. As a team, definitely reliability has not been our strongest point, and we’ve realised that is something we need to keep working on. For example, Ferrari seems very strong on that side, so we just need to make sure.

“I know the team is working super hard to make sure that these things don’t happen. But if I look back after this first—this is weekend 10—if we look at me and George combined, we lost lots of points. Then if you look at the Constructors’ Championship balance, it’s definitely a big hit. But as drivers, in this case me and George [Russell], we just try to do our best and make sure we use every opportunity we get.”

Antonelli has lost out of valuable points in the championship with his recent problems | Credit: Formula One

Upcoming weekend

As for Spa, Antonelli has not yet lost hope: “Our car has been quick at every race, so for sure I’d expect us to be up there. But Ferrari were also very strong at Silverstone. It was a surprise, but to be fair, we always kind of expected them to be up there because, especially when it comes to qualifying, they seem to find some extra time.

“So definitely we think they can be up there this weekend. Then, of course, you cannot write off Red Bull and McLaren because they can always come out and be fast as well. As always, I’ll just focus on myself, but we’re pretty confident that the package is going to be good because it has been good all throughout this year.”

The Mercedes is still one of the quickest cars on the grid | Credit: Formula One

Report card

One of the journalists asks Kimi what rating he would give himself halfway through the season. “I wouldn’t say 10 out of 10, for a few reasons,” the Italian starts. “First one, Australia FP3. That was not good because then we almost missed qualifying. We couldn’t set up the car properly and stuff like that, so it compromised a bit the end of the weekend. 

“Then I would say Japan. Yes, I did win in Japan, but I had a really bad start. Obviously, we extended the stint and then we were lucky with the safety car. Then I would say, more recently, the Miami sprint race track limits, Barcelona qualifying, mainly Spielberg qualifying. So there are a few things. I would say 8.5 out of 10.”

Antonelli after winning the Japanese Grand Prix | Credit: Formula One

Being famous

All Formula One drivers get attention, but for a 19-year-old, that must be strange. Antonelli opens up about his fame: “It’s great to see the support when I go back home. Also because, as Italians, we’re quite emotional. We show our emotions a lot. So to see the excitement is great.”

Though he is still young, he is already very mature about this: “However, you also need to be careful with the expectations that are built. But it’s always great to be back home, especially after a good weekend, to see so much support.

The Italian driver can count on a lot of support from his fans | Credit: Formula One

“Also, to the other question of being famous, for sure there are times where you would like not to be recognised when you do certain things, when you go for dinner. But that’s also part of being an athlete.

“To be fair, as long as you’re able to embrace these moments, I think it’s also very nice and very enjoyable. But, of course, there are times where I would like to be unrecognised. At the same time, I know it’s part of it, and I’m very happy this way.”