Kimi Antonelli left Friday’s Hungarian F1 Grand Prix with the expectation of a Mercedes recovery. The young driver acknowledged that he faced difficulties in his only session of the day but believes the team has gathered enough information to evolve and try to enter the fight for the top positions in Budapest.
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The Italian did not participate in FP1, ceding the car to Fred Vesti, and only took to the track in FP2. According to Antonelli, the car’s behavior was far from ideal, especially during quick lap attempts, which made it difficult to set a competitive time.
The driver’s activity was also hampered by external factors. His first attempt was interrupted by a red flag, and after the session restarted, he again faced problems finding traffic on the track and dealing with rear wheel lock-ups.
“It was a tricky first day here in Budapest, and probably that was the case for everyone. I was out of FP1, with Fred doing a good job in the car. When I got into the cockpit for FP2, I was struggling with the balance of the car,” he stated.
Antonelli explained that the problems became more evident during qualifying simulations: “I had to abandon my first attempt because of the red flag, but I tried to set a lap when the session resumed. I couldn’t complete it because I encountered traffic and was also suffering from rear tire lock-ups,” he continued.
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Even with these difficulties in quick laps, the driver saw positive signs in the long stints. According to him, Mercedes managed to get the tires into a more suitable operating window, which brought a more positive feeling during race simulations.
“The long-run pace was better, and I think we managed to get the tires into a more favorable condition. We also have a lot of data and learnings to take from this Friday, which we will analyze overnight,” he added.
Antonelli believes that FP3 will be decisive in defining the rest of Mercedes’ weekend: “I’m looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow. FP3 will be an important hour for us to try and get the car into a better condition and put ourselves in contention for pole position. We know it won’t be easy with the difference we saw today, but we will give our best,” concluded the young Italian driver.
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