Antonelli is “really disappointed” after tough qualifying at the Red Bull Ring

On the back of his maiden F1 podium last time out at Montreal, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli reckoned he is”really disappointed” after tough qualifying at the Red Bull Ring.

On the back of his pole position and victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, George Russell seemingly carried over his form to the Red Bull as he finished the opening session on Friday on top.

However, Mercedes were unable to challenge for top places on Saturday, with both McLaren and Ferrari having had the upper hand in qualifying.

The four-time Formula One race winner ended up in a distant fifth place, and he will be joined by Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson on the third row.

His team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli looked on par with Russell, but the Italian was affected by yellow flag brought out by Pierre Gasly’s spin which saw him finish only ninth.

Explaining his issues at the Red Bull Ring, the Bologna-born racer stated: “Definitely the pace has been quite good, especially also comparing to George. Also in FP [Free Practice], the race pace felt strong. Of course tomorrow we need to check on the temperature and we’re going to be in dirty air, so [that’s] a different story, but hopefully we can move forward.”

“Looking back at his session – and whether the rising temperatures may have caused Mercedes to struggle more – Antonelli said: “I think also the wind affected us. It was a shame to miss out on the last lap, because I couldn’t complete the lap because of the chequered flag, so it was a shame. Hopefully tomorrow we can have a good race pace in order to move forward.”

“I am really disappointed in how things went in Qualifying today. The potential was there and I was improving lap after lap. Not being able to complete my last single lap is therefore a real shame.

The 18-year-old driver continued: “I know I had the potential to fight for the top five, similarly to George, so this is one that got away from us. Traffic is always a challenge around such a short circuit but nevertheless, it is frustrating not to get the chance to show what we could do.

“I am positive going into tomorrow’s race though. The overall balance of the car is good and the learnings I made throughout the weekend have helped me improve massively.

“Tomorrow is going to be challenging with high track temperatures and tyre management won’t be easy, but I do feel confident we can make up positions,” Antonelli concluded.

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