Why was Kimi Antonelli left in the Australian GP qualifying? Explain Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli was eliminated in the first part of the qualification in Albert Park, where Funken flew under his Mercedes under his Mercedes.

The Italian rookie missed the second quarter of only 0.09 seconds after he had fought hard without success after registering extensive soil damage.

Kimi Antonelli explains Mercedes W16 damage

Antonelli ended in the top 5 in the last training session, less than three tenths before George Russell’s pace when the British driver McLarens Oscar Piatri put pressure on top position.

But Antonelli’s day fell apart early in the first quarter, with television films showing the underbody of the Mercedes to an unusual extent along the ground – to the point where the front edge of the bib shone due to friction against the asphalt.

While F1 cars run very low, it was clear that something was wrong on the W16 – and this was carried by Antonelli, which had not made it into the second quarter, while Russell took fourth place.

After his excretion from the first qualification seat, Antonelli spoke in his first F1 qualification meeting with the media and revealed that his car had been damaged as a result of the curbs in curve 6.

“I made the same line to be honest like FP3,” he said.

“It was only a large plot of gravel on the curb and when I went through it, I captured quite a lot of damage.

“First of all, I lost a lot of the straight line because the floor scrubbed the route and then lost some of the aero load because the soil was obviously not aligned – part was on the asphalt and scratched. So it was definitely very important. “

Mercedes hopes that the 18-year-old Italian will exploit the potential he exhibited after he has turned to him to trace the decreasing Lewis Hamilton for the F1 2025.

Although Antonelli employed his best effort in qualifying, she was optimistic that he tried to turn things around the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

“The pace of the car is there,” he said.

“It is very tight, because now every team is approaching each other, but that’s why it is quite disappointing. Because in any case we could have fighted for a much better position.

“Tomorrow it is obviously raining, so many things can happen. We will try to build something good from there.

“I think FP3 was very, very positive. Therefore, the result is quite disappointing because I had the feeling that we could have done for a much better position, but it is what it is and we try to continue and see what we can do tomorrow. “

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Andrew Shovlin: The soil damage has significantly influenced Kimi Antonelli

While Antonelli only missed the second quarter with a tiny edge, Mercedes’ Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin admitted that his day would probably not go on, even if he had done it.

“Kimi was unhappy after running the starting point over the outcome in curve 6,” he said.

“The soil damage caused, which influenced its performance considerably, both on the straight and in the corners.

“He did his best to bring the car to the second quarter, but even if he was able to do so, it is unlikely that we can make the necessary repairs to get it out of it again.

“However, we can be encouraged by his progress on weekends and the pace that he showed both on the individual round and on a long time.

“While he doesn’t start in the position, the wet weather can offer him the opportunity to make good progress in the field.”

Since team boss Toto Wolff says that such incidents are all “advantageous for his learning”, attention is now aimed at the view of rain that affects the race on Sunday – the conditions for every driver, let alone a newcomer in his first Grand Prix.

“It will be my second time in the wet, so it will be fun, I think,” said Antonelli.

“I really like the rain. Obviously, this track seems a bit difficult, but I think we can do something good from there.

“The car felt good to be honest. It is only that the damage has changed the situation with the car a lot. “

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