Mercedes technical director James Allison has praised Kimi
Antonelli for playing a "champion part" in not making any mistakes
in a breakthrough Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Italian teenager
entered the Baku City Circuit on the back of a nightmare European
leg, which fell either side of a brilliant podium in Canada.
Across the nine races in Europe, Antonelli scored just three
points, courtesy of finishing 10th in Hungary and ninth in Monza.
It led to some speculation whether the 19-year-old had been
promoted too soon; however, he proved any doubters wrong with an
impressive Baku performance. In challenging qualifying conditions
which caught out several big names, Antonelli navigated his way
around cleanly to claim fourth on the grid. While he was in podium
contention for the entirety of the grand prix, the Mercedes driver
had to settle for fourth – his joint-second best result of his
maiden campaign. Despite displaying some disappointment in not
securing a podium, the result was a real confidence booster for
Antonelli, who received high praise from Allison. Reflecting on
Antonelli's performance, Allison said: "I think the approach from
all of us, really, just to make consistent sessions the order of
the day, understanding with Kimi and that focus and attention on
those free practice sessions is crucial for arriving in qualifying
in good shape, which is crucial for making the race work out for
you, and that any slip-ups in free practice are much more costly
than they appear, so the concentration on that needs to be
collectively high from all of us. "And Kimi certainly played a
champion part in making sure that he really didn’t put a foot
wrong. I think he went up an escape road once during the weekend,
but absolutely not a scratch on his car. "Into qualifying, which
was pretty difficult, you saw how many red flags there were in
qualifying. Kimi came through that in good nick, did a good lap.
"He was within one gusty corner away from being P2 on the grid and
had a good weekend as a consequence."
Antonelli for playing a "champion part" in not making any mistakes
in a breakthrough Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Italian teenager
entered the Baku City Circuit on the back of a nightmare European
leg, which fell either side of a brilliant podium in Canada.
Across the nine races in Europe, Antonelli scored just three
points, courtesy of finishing 10th in Hungary and ninth in Monza.
It led to some speculation whether the 19-year-old had been
promoted too soon; however, he proved any doubters wrong with an
impressive Baku performance. In challenging qualifying conditions
which caught out several big names, Antonelli navigated his way
around cleanly to claim fourth on the grid. While he was in podium
contention for the entirety of the grand prix, the Mercedes driver
had to settle for fourth – his joint-second best result of his
maiden campaign. Despite displaying some disappointment in not
securing a podium, the result was a real confidence booster for
Antonelli, who received high praise from Allison. Reflecting on
Antonelli's performance, Allison said: "I think the approach from
all of us, really, just to make consistent sessions the order of
the day, understanding with Kimi and that focus and attention on
those free practice sessions is crucial for arriving in qualifying
in good shape, which is crucial for making the race work out for
you, and that any slip-ups in free practice are much more costly
than they appear, so the concentration on that needs to be
collectively high from all of us. "And Kimi certainly played a
champion part in making sure that he really didn’t put a foot
wrong. I think he went up an escape road once during the weekend,
but absolutely not a scratch on his car. "Into qualifying, which
was pretty difficult, you saw how many red flags there were in
qualifying. Kimi came through that in good nick, did a good lap.
"He was within one gusty corner away from being P2 on the grid and
had a good weekend as a consequence."
The post Mercedes praise 'champion' Kimi Antonelli after major Baku breakthrough appeared first on RacingNews365.