Following a tough run of races, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli hopes cooler Montreal conditions will mark the start of his recovery.
Kimi Antonelli had a strong start to his rookie Formula 1 season, but the recent triple-header proved challenging for the Mercedes driver.
In Canada, the Italian is clearly looking to bounce back, and he addressed the media during Thursday’s press conference in Montreal.
“Well, this triple-header was quite difficult for me, especially because I wasn’t very competitive, and we also had a few issues.”
“But overall, I think I still learned a lot, particularly in managing busier race weekends. Imola was incredible — both because of the crowd intensity and spending time in front of my home fans — and I clearly didn’t handle things in the best way.”
“So overall, it was quite tough, not how I wanted it to be. But thankfully, after those three difficult weekends, we had a week off and I feel ready to get back on track tomorrow.”
What held him back during those three races?
“I think mainly the new C6 tyre – in Imola and Monaco – I struggled to find consistency with it, just to get steady performance. The C6 seems to be a very demanding tyre, and it’s really hard to hit the right window straight away in a flying lap. That’s what I struggled with.”
“At Imola, my performance was very up and down from one session to another. In FP3, I remember we were on top, then in qualifying I suddenly lost five or six tenths compared to FP3. So I really struggled to understand the tyre and get it into the right window, which took a toll on my confidence.”
“That’s why in Barcelona, it was nice to get back into rhythm. But at the same time, especially at the start of the sessions, it took me too long to find the pace. That was also due to my two very tough qualifying sessions in the previous rounds. That was really the main issue.”
And with the C6 compound returning in Montreal, does he feel more prepared this time?
“During our week off, I spent a few days at the factory doing simulations and analyzing the C6 compound – when it worked well, why I could extract performance, and when it didn’t, what I did differently. I understood quite a few things. Obviously, Montreal is a completely different circuit: the tarmac, lots of low-speed corners, and generally quite cold. So I’ve tried to work on that to get a better idea of how to approach things, especially for this weekend.”
It’s clear the Mercedes W16 still isn’t fond of summer temperatures…
“We’re back to cooler temperatures here – last year, Mercedes was super strong. This year, to be honest, it’s quite different, quite unusual, because sometimes, in places like Bahrain – not so much in my case, but George was – the car was quick, and it wasn’t that cold.”
“But in cooler temperatures, our car generally performs pretty well. This year, we’ve been strong where last year the car really struggled, and elsewhere we’ve been a bit weaker. It’s really important to find the right performance window, because these cars are very sensitive. Finding the right window and balance can make all the difference. So I think it will be crucial to get the setup right to progress through the weekend and try to build from there. I have a lot of confidence in the team. They’re doing a great job. The atmosphere is good. They’re really trying to put the best car on track. Now it’s up to me to do the rest.”
In the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari has gained a slight edge. What does he make of the battle for the rest of the season? Does he think catching up to Ferrari will be easy or difficult?
“Well, it will definitely be very difficult, because they’ve been quite strong in the last few races. I think it’s also very important, on my side, to get back to performing, because George is obviously doing a great job. On my side, in the last three races, I haven’t been as competitive as I should have been, and I’ve been very unhappy with my performances.”
“So it’ll be really important for me to get back into shape and back into that position. The key will be consistency, delivering good performances and results regularly. Then, with the team, we’ll try to do our best, improving the car as much as possible. From my side, I’ll try to make progress race by race. It won’t be easy, of course, but I think if we work well, it’s something we can definitely achieve by the end of the year.”
