Kimi Antonelli is ready for a fight and is focusing on the start

Andrea Kimi Antonelli commented on his third-place finish in qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix, already looking ahead to Sunday’s race: “I’m not happy, but it’s not a bad position, because I’m on the clean side and the run-up to Turn 1 will be long: so I think we have a good chance for Sunday.”

The Mercedes driver from Bologna, who will start behind George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, is optimistic: “The pace is good, but it will be really important to manage the tires as best as possible and try to maximize race pace. I think we’ll see a lot more pit stops on Sunday; I’ll give it my all in every stint so I have the best chance to win or get on the podium.”

For the first time this season, Antonelli isn’t on the front row: “Let’s just say I’m having a bit of a tough weekend overall. I haven’t found the right feeling with my car yet. In any case, in yesterday’s simulations I saw that the race pace is good, so I’m trying to look forward to tomorrow’s race with confidence. It’s really hot this weekend; the tires struggle to last even a single lap, so I’ve never been able to get the most out of them during the time attack.”

Wing-slip drafting will be important at the start: “I’ll try to get off to the best possible start and take advantage of the slipstream from the car in front of me. We have a lot of work to do tonight, and we’ll do everything we can to be in the best possible shape for the race.”