P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Kimi Antonelli started strongly in his debut F1 season, before a poor run of form kicked in around the European season.
Mercedes believes that Kimi Antonelli’s impressive start to his career in F1 was hindered by the competitive and demanding nature of modern qualifying sessions. Despite starting off his debut race in Australia in 16th place due to floor damage, Antonelli showed consistent improvement in his Saturday performances, culminating in pole position at the Sprint race in Miami. However, his results began to decline during the European season, with a low point of 19th place in Belgium. The summer break seemed to have revitalized Antonelli, with strong finishes in the Dutch, Italian, and Azerbaijan GPs. Reflecting on his progress, engineering director Andrew Shovlin mentioned the confusion caused by a rear suspension upgrade introduced for Imola that had to be removed due to performance issues, impacting Antonelli’s qualifying. Shovlin emphasized the challenges Antonelli faced as a young driver in such a competitive field, highlighting the pressure and unforgiving nature of modern F1 qualifying.
