Antonelli takes extra 'fuel' to Azerbaijan GP after Wolff criticism
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Kimi Antonelli says he has extra motivation to iron out mistakes at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff branded his performance “underwhelming” at the last Formula 1 race in Italy.
“I think it was mainly related to the race, which I agree wasn’t the best. But I took it positively, as fuel to do even better for this race weekend,” Antonelli said on Thursday.
Wolff was critical of various aspects of Antonelli's performance at his home race at Monza, where the Italian driver finished ninth and was beached in the gravel in practice. Wolff also suggested the 19-year-old rookie needed to leave behind the baggage of other incidents this season.
“In Monza, why he felt the race was underwhelming, which I agree with, is because especially on the hard (tires) I made a lot of driving mistakes,” Antonelli said. “The conversation was pretty clear, he just wants me to have a clean weekend to regain the momentum I had.”
An odd rookie season
Antonelli's first F1 season in place of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes started with five-point finishes in his first six grands prix and a record-breaking sprint race pole in Miami, but has tailed off since.
He's done best at unfamiliar tracks outside of Europe, including his only podium finish of third in Canada, and poorly at the European circuits he knows well.
In recent races, arguably Antonelli's biggest impact on Mercedes' fight with Red Bull and Ferrari for second place in the constructors' standings was crashing into Red Bull's Max Verstappen in Austria and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the Netherlands.
“The European season has been quite tough, and now I’m really looking forward to the last part of the season again out of Europe,” he said. “It’s always a bit more calm and I have a bit more time for myself. I’m really looking forward to clean weekends and getting back the momentum and that’s what the team wants.”
As Antonelli's performances have declined, other F1 rookies have impressed.
Isack Hadjar raised his chances of a promotion to the main Red Bull team with third place in the Netherlands last month, while Gabriel Bortoleto has four top-10 finishes in the last six races in his uncompetitive Sauber.
Russell unwell
Antonelli was a late replacement for teammate George Russell at a news conference on Thursday after the team said Russell was feeling unwell and needed to rest before Friday practice.
Russell hasn't missed a race since his F1 debut in 2019. Mercedes' reserve driver is Valtteri Bottas, the 10-time race winner who is joining new team Cadillac next year.
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