Formula 1 saw Kimi Antonelli bounce back at Spa-Francorchamps this Friday. After a quiet start in FP1, the championship leader reacted in FP2 after Mercedes made significant changes to his car.
Read more F1: Vasseur believes in a fine for Ferrari at Spa
The Italian finished the first session more than half a second behind Max Verstappen, but ended the day at the top of the timesheet. The recovery reinforces Antonelli’s favoritism for the Belgian GP and increases Mercedes’ confidence for the rest of the weekend.
According to the nineteen-year-old driver, the changes made to the W17 between the two sessions had an immediate impact. The performance was so impressive that only Lando Norris managed to be less than two tenths off his best lap in FP2.
“Yes, we made big changes to the car, and it got much better. So, this is a good direction,” said Antonelli. Despite the progress, the season leader believes there is still room for improvement both in the car setup and in his driving.
“Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done by the team, as well as in my driving. But it was a much better session, and now I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said the Mercedes driver.
Read more F1: Haas celebrates progress after positive Friday in Spa
The goal for the weekend is clear: to achieve the sixth victory of the season. Antonelli arrives at Spa after a frustrating British GP, where he left without scoring points, despite considering that the performance throughout that weekend had been positive: “Obviously, Silverstone was a great weekend, but I left there without points, which really hurt me,” he said. The Italian leads the championship with a 25-point advantage over his teammate, George Russell.
Even with the best time of the day, Antonelli adopts a cautious stance: “This weekend is different, a new challenge, and the goal remains to maximize each session, every time I get in the car, and then maximize the result,” he added.
For the young driver, the performance this Friday was just the first step: “Today was definitely a good way to end the day, but there is still a lot of work to be done before tomorrow,” he concluded, keeping the focus on continuing Mercedes’ work at Spa.
Read more F1: Cadillac talks about a «solid and quite productive» day in Belgium
