Kimi Antonelli: “This is the toughest moment”: Mercedes plays it down

It was a tough Friday for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who made a serious mistake during the official qualifying session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku and will start from 16th on the grid.

The World Championship leader will be forced into another major comeback in the style of Monza, but one that promises to be significantly more complicated given the excellent form of his teammate George Russell. Speaking to Sky, Mercedes team principal Bradley Lord downplayed the incident: “It was a mistake. Mistakes happen, and fortunately, it happened in qualifying. He was still fast enough to make it into Q2; he’ll start 16th, pending any penalties for other drivers. I think he’ll race smartly in the early stages tomorrow, and I’m certain he has the pace to make up ground.”

“There’s always a certain margin for error, but this is just one incident in a long season, and what matters is tomorrow’s race. That’s where the points are earned.”

George Russell himself remains cautious despite securing a sensational pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc: “Kimi will definitely start a little further back, but he’s capable of making up a lot of ground, as he’s already shown. Kimi can certainly be a threat tomorrow. Ferrari also looks fast, so I just want to focus on myself.”