News Summary
- Kimi Antonelli says Mercedes has identified the issues affecting its updated W17, following a difficult start to the Singapore GP weekend.
- The Italian qualified fourth for Sunday’s Grand Prix, after finishing seventh in Friday’s sprint qualifying.
- Antonelli believes the next step is finding the correct setup window to extract the maximum performance from the new package.
Kimi Antonelli has revealed that Mercedes has identified the problems affecting its upgraded W17, with the championship leader reporting a significant improvement in the car’s behaviour after qualifying fourth for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, October 10.
The Italian had struggled with the updated aerodynamic specification throughout Friday’s running, finishing seventh in both FP1 and sprint qualifying while teammate George Russell proved more competitive with the previous package.
However, Antonelli’s performance improved on Saturday. After finishing fourth in the rain-affected sprint, he secured the same position in Grand Prix qualifying with a 1:31.562, just 0.189s behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen.
Antonelli says Mercedes has identified upgrade problems
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying, Antonelli explained that Mercedes had made progress in understanding the updated package, although the car remained sensitive to setup changes.
“Yeah, it definitely felt in a better place today, even though the window is very small where the car operates, and especially throughout qualifying, how you try to find every little more of time,” Antonelli said.
“The car always reacts a bit differently, and this could be also from corner to corner.”
The Italian acknowledged that Mercedes’ engineers had identified the issues that contributed to Friday’s difficulties.
“But I think the team did a really good job because, first of all, we found the issues, and now we’re able to understand more the package, and now it’s more about trying to find the right window with the setup to make sure that the package works at its best.”
The comments mark a change from Friday, when Antonelli had described the upgraded Mercedes as “very unpredictable” after finishing seventh in sprint qualifying.
Mercedes had introduced the update at Sepang before deciding to compare two aerodynamic specifications at Marina Bay.
As GRANDE PRÊMIO reported after Friday’s practice, team principal Toto Wolff acknowledged that the new specification appeared more difficult to drive, although the team had not established whether it was slower.
Mercedes finds progress as Russell struggles after sprint crash
The comparison between the two Mercedes cars continued throughout Saturday.
Russell had topped FP1 and qualified second for the sprint using the older specification, but crashed out of the race after taking the lead from Verstappen.
The Briton’s Mercedes was subsequently rebuilt for Grand Prix qualifying, and he reported that the car no longer felt the same.
“Something was a bit odd because we had great pace yesterday and Kimi’s in a similar position to where he was yesterday but I’ve taken a step backwards and the car didn’t feel quite the same,” Russell said.
GRANDE PRÊMIO reported Russell’s concerns about the rebuilt W17, which contrasted with Antonelli’s improved confidence in the updated package.
Russell recorded a 1:31.747 in qualifying, 0.185s slower than Antonelli, although his previously confirmed 40-place power-unit penalty means he will start from the back of the grid.
Antonelli targets Singapore podium from fourth
Antonelli enters Sunday’s race with an 89-point advantage over Russell in the Drivers’ Championship after finishing fourth in Saturday’s sprint while his teammate retired.
The Italian will start the Grand Prix from fourth, behind Verstappen and the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Asked whether he could continue collecting strong results even when the Mercedes was not performing at its best, Antonelli identified a podium finish as his target.
“Yeah, I think tomorrow we’ll try to hopefully get a good start, and then let’s see what we can do from P4,” Antonelli said.
“But the podium will be very good, but let’s see also how I will feel together with the car on track, and I’ll do my best.”
The complete Singapore GP qualifying results are available in GRANDE PRÊMIO, alongside the updated Singapore GP schedule. GRANDE PRÊMIO follows the latest Formula 1 news throughout the Singapore GP weekend.
