Andrea Kimi Antonelli struggled with tire warm-up issues during qualifying, landing him in P8 behind Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar for tomorrow’s race.
“The pace was there, it’s just I struggled to find the right balance with the warm up,” Antonelli explained after the session. “I struggled to be in the right window to get maximum grip. That was happening during the whole session and created a bit of a mess.”
The Mercedes driver started qualifying feeling good but quickly lost his rhythm as tire problems mounted.
“It also killed a little bit of confidence, because I started the session feeling good and then lost it because I struggled with warming up the tires,” he admitted. “But overall, still a decent position for tomorrow.”
This is Antonelli’s first season in Formula 1, and the jump from junior categories to the top level brings significant challenges – especially with the tires.
Before F1, he raced with Pirelli’s simpler Academy tires in lower series. Now he’s dealing with the notoriously tricky F1 compounds that have frustrated even veteran drivers.
“The tire is completely different, the working range is completely different,” he said. “The way the tire works and how you can use it is a lot different too.”
Getting F1 tires into their perfect operating window is like hitting a moving target – too cold and they slide, too hot and they degrade rapidly.
“The warm-up is a really big topic and it’s really hard to understand and find the right balance,” Antonelli added. “That’s why there’s still work to do on that side.”
A mistake in the final corner during his last qualifying lap didn’t help matters either.
“Going off in the last corner during Q3 didn’t help for the last lap. I left quite a bit of time on the table there, and probably without that I could have been in a higher position,” he concluded.
Despite the challenges, P8 gives the young Italian a solid chance to score points in tomorrow’s race if he can get more comfortable with those tricky Pirelli compounds.
