Andrea Kimi Antonelli once again expressed all his joy: “I was a bit worried, but it was an incredible day.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli couldn’t hide his joy after securing his first-ever Formula 1 podium. A result that already marks a piece of history: the last “Italian” to stand on a Formula 1 podium was Jarno Trulli back in 2009.
Speaking to Sky Sport F1’s Notebook, joined by Marc Gené and Ivan Capelli, Antonelli shared his emotions: “An unforgettable day. I’m still trying to process everything that just happened — it was all so intense. It was a really tough race, especially that last stint. I pushed a bit too hard to stay close to Max, and that led to some graining on my front-left tyre.”
“In the first stint, I had pushed a lot to catch up to Max, and the tyre started to open up — I had a significant drop-off in performance. I was afraid the same thing might happen again, and at the same time, I could see the McLarens getting closer and closer.”
Antonelli: “Ho provato a sfruttare ogni possibilità con Max”
“At that point I was trying to do both: stay close to Max and defend my third place. I was ready to seize any opportunity. In the two previous stints, Max had experienced a drop towards the end, so my plan was to stay as close as possible, just in case it happened again. But today, he had really strong pace. From then on, I just tried to stay calm, focused, and as consistent as possible, because I knew that was what I needed to hold off the McLarens and keep myself in podium contention.”
Then he revealed that the feeling had been there even before the lights went out: “Before the start, I felt like it could be a special day. I was confident in our race pace and knew we could fight for something big. On the grid, I tried to shut everything out — even visually. I wasn’t looking around, I kept my head down, totally focused. I was preparing myself mentally, because I knew the start was going to be crucial.”
“The Mercedes felt really strong today, and I think it’s thanks to the upgrades we’ve brought in recent races. We’ve learned a lot and are starting to get more and more out of the car. This track also suits us — historically Mercedes has always been strong here. There aren’t too many high-speed corners, mostly slow and medium ones, which helps tyre management. Even with today’s high temperatures, we were able to cope really well.”
And finally, a special moment at the end of the race: “When I got out of the car, my dad told me he almost had a heart attack! He was so emotional. I think it was a stressful race for everyone, but now we can breathe a big sigh of relief. It’s a beautiful result. I’m over the moon,” Antonelli concluded.
Photo: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
