Antonelli says Mercedes is taking a “good step forward” with the upgrades

Written by Bo Helmus

Antonelli can become World Champion this weekend if all plays out | Credit: Formula One

Where Mercedes was the team to beat before the summer break, they have been struggling for pace since. But with a second place in the second practice session, Kimi Antonelli might put the Silver Arrows back at the front. 

Updates brought in Malaysia should have propelled the Mercedes’ back to their once dominant position, but the team from Brackley struggled to make them work. It got so out of hand that they have put George Russell’s car back to its original state in Singapore. 

Mercedes tried to find a way to bring the updates to life on Antonelli’s car, but gave up after a fifth time for the Italian in the first practice session. The mechanics put the second W17 back in the old specs, and immediately made it work. The 20-year-old set the second time in the afternoon session, only four hundredths behind Charles Leclerc, who was fastest. 

Antonelli is leading the championship by 102 points with six races to go | Credit: Formula One

Taking steps forward

“Having both cars on the same upgrade package helps because we can try lots of different stuff and we can have a better understanding of this package,” the championship leader explained. 

“Since Singapore, having that week off, we were able to analyse the data and understand better what this package needs. However, we’re still trying to find how to put the car in the right window. Definitely we’ve been taking steps forward and we’ll see what we can do to improve even more.”

Back on track

In between the practice sessions, Antonelli’s car was brought back to its original state. It was a race against the clock, as the Italian explains: “It was a bit of a difficult start [to Free Practice 2] because the seat was not fixed properly, so it kind of felt like being on a rollercoaster on Lap 1, with the seat moving in the high speed [corners]. We lost a little bit of time but it was still a good recovery.

“I felt good. I felt better in the car compared to FP1. Still lots of work to do but it was a good step forward and now we’ll try to improve even further for tomorrow.”