Formula 1 had a dramatic Saturday for Kimi Antonelli at the 2026 Australian GP. After destroying the car in FP3, the young Italian reacted in qualifying and secured a place on the front row of the starting grid at Albert Park.
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The result was even more impressive because Mercedes had to work against the clock to repair the car before the start of the session. Even after the heavy crash, Antonelli managed to return to the track and finished just three-tenths behind his teammate George Russell, securing a front-row lockout for the German team.
The day began chaotically for the Italian driver during FP3. Antonelli lost control of his Mercedes while coming off the curb at the second corner of the Melbourne circuit and ended up hitting the wall, causing significant damage to the car. The impact destroyed the W17 and forced the team’s mechanics to carry out intense repair work so that the car would be ready in time for qualifying.
The driver himself acknowledged the scale of the challenge faced throughout Saturday. “It was a very, very stressful day,” Antonelli stated after the session. According to him, the recovery of the car was decisive so that he could still fight for a good position on the grid.
“Unfortunately I hit the wall, but the guys were the heroes for putting the car back on track,” said the Italian. He explained that there was practically no time for adjustments before returning to the layout. “We didn’t even manage to set up the car, we just went out on track, but I managed to put it on the front row, so I’m very happy with that.”
Antonelli returned to the track during Q1 at a moment marked by a red flag, caused by an accident involving Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Even with the session interrupted and limited time to adapt to the car again after the crash, the driver managed to advance through the qualifying phases and surprise with the final result.
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Despite the celebration for the grid position, the Italian admitted that the day was mentally demanding. “It wasn’t easy to deal with all of this,” he stated. “I had to find the strength to overcome it.”
The driver also acknowledged that the accident might have compromised an even better result in qualifying. “I need to have a cleaner weekend next time, because I definitely compromised qualifying,” he said.
Even so, Antonelli showed confidence for this Sunday’s race. “We have a race ahead of us and a good result is possible,” he added.
Mercedes, however, could still face complications after qualifying. The team is under investigation for two incidents that occurred during the session, the first for a possible pit lane infringement in Q1 and the second for releasing Antonelli’s car in a condition considered potentially unsafe during Q3.
If no penalty changes the result of the session, Antonelli will start alongside Russell on the front row of the Australian GP starting grid, marking a promising start for Mercedes in the new era of Formula 1.
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