Mercedes had reasons to celebrate in the Formula 1 Sprint qualifying for the Dutch GP with George Russell’s pole position. However, Kimi Antonelli faced a more challenging session.
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The Brit has been trying to make up ground in the championship and in Zandvoort managed to take a first step for the Sprint race, something much celebrated. “It’s been a while since I led the timing sheet in a session, so it’s good to remind myself that I can still do that and that I still have what it takes. The summer break came at a good time and gave me the opportunity to recharge and come into this weekend with a renewed mindset,” he said.
“I came here with an open mind, as my confidence was not at its peak; so I tried to approach this weekend as if it were the first race of the season, without overthinking things and focusing on the basics. So far, that seems to be working well. Of course, this is just the Sprint Qualifying, and tomorrow’s main qualifying session is what really matters,” he continued.
“McLaren looks very fast and Ferrari also appears strong, from what we saw in Free Practice 1; so we know there is a lot of competition around us. Overtaking is always a challenge on this circuit, so a clean start will be important to maximize the result in the Sprint. For now, it’s an exciting start to the weekend, but there is still a lot of work to do,” he added.
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Meanwhile, the Italian championship leader suffered damage to the floor of his car and will start only from fifth position. “On my first lap of SQ1, I entered the last corner with a bit too much speed and suffered some damage. This affected our performance and, although the team did their best to fix the car, I had quite a bit of difficulty in low-speed corners. After an incident like that, it can be hard to regain confidence and make everything work. Still, the time differences were very small, so there are positives to take from the session,” he explained.
“Now, we will focus on doing the best possible race in the Sprint. It will be a challenge, as the front pack is very balanced and overtaking won’t be easy, but we will seek to make the most of every opportunity and gain as much ground as possible. The most important thing is that we will use the race to collect information and position ourselves as best as possible for qualifying, which takes place later today,” he concluded.
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