From Shanghai
Italy thanks Andrea Kimi Antonelli, finding an Italian in pole position after 17 years. The driver from Bologna took advantage of an impregnable Mercedes on the flying lap, demonstrating psychological strength in recovering from the errors of the Sprint. The morning race also confirms that Ferrari is closer to the Silver Arrows over the long distance, with the possibility for the Cavallino to put pressure on in the race, where, in addition to energy, it will be important to manage the tyres.
Antonelli’s first pole
Antonelli’s qualification is a great one, fighting on the edge of the hundredth with his teammate already in Q1 and Q2. Then, in the decisive session, the unexpected arrives, an electrical problem that forces Russell to return to the pits. Mercedes manages to send the Briton back onto the track, however completing the launch lap with little time and with traffic from those who are pushing, compromising the preparation of the tires and battery and closing with a gap of 2 tenths. In any case, despite the good things he showed throughout the session, the impression is that Kimi could have played it out even if his teammate had been free of problems, although none of this matters.
The champions also recognize themselves in seizing opportunities when they present themselves, something that Antonelli never fails to do, driving in a constant and precise manner, which is essential in order not to disorientate the energy management software. Kimi is entitled to dream ahead of the raceafter showing good pace in the Sprint and even before that in Australia. The Italian has one of his strong points in tire management, underlined by those who have access to his data. The important thing for him will be to manage all the starting procedures well and redeem himself from the two errors at the start of the short race, and then try to compete not only with Russell, but also with the Ferraris.
Ferrari aims for the race
This time Ferrari manages to put it all together, monopolizing the second row. The fastest is once again Lewis Hamilton, always at ease on the Chinese track, as well as reinvigorated both in his driving and in his morale. Charles Leclerc will start alongside him, choosing to change his approach in qualifying compared to the previous day, taking advantage of the lessons learned. The Ferrari driver understood that the new cars, extremely sensitive in energy management to every change in gas use, crush the courage to dare on the flying lap, rewarding a more constant pace in the various preliminaries: “One of my strengths was that in Q3 I took huge risks to squeeze out something more. Now when you do that, you confuse the power unit and you lose more than you gain, as happened to me yesterday.”
The Monegasque consoles himself with the feeling of having a more favorable setup for the race, where Ferrari will be able to use the second row to maximize their advantage at the start. Over the long distance there remains a gap between the SF-26 and the Mercedes, but still smaller than the flying lap. Part of the credit goes to the engine concept, which is more focused on torque than absolute power, which helps when the car is heavier and comes out of corners more slowly. The gap in qualifying, however, speaks of a Ferrari that by intervening on the set-up managed to get close to the Mercedes even on the flying lap, although other factors add to the merits of the Cavallino.
McLaren is getting closer, Red Bull is not
Russell’s problem leaves one wondering what the Mercedes’ potential could be in his hands, despite not appearing in the same form as the day before, complaining of understeer. Furthermore, already in Q1 and Q2, the impression is of a general approach of the competition to the Silver Arrowspartly due to the evolution of the track, but also due to the general adjustment in energy management. In Friday’s qualifying, many were caught off guard by the big jump from the medium to the soft compound in Q3, which was higher than expected and was enough to throw off energy strategies.
It is the image of a Formula 1 where the teams learn and progress day by day, as well as from one weekend to the next. Witness McLaren, which has improved in exploiting the Mercedes power unit, according to Andrea Stella. The Team Principal admits that a large part of the MCL40’s delay lies in cornering performance, saying he is confident that he can make up for it with developments. Piastri hopes for a 2023-style comeback and unlike that year, McLaren now would not need to overturn the basic concept. “The machine is a solid foundation. If anything, it is underdeveloped”says Stella.
The one who appears to be even more in crisis is Red Bull, both in qualifying and in the Sprint race, where the RB22 is a victim of graining. The team takes advantage of the reopening of parc fermé to make many changes to the set-up, but Verstappen still continues to define the car as undriveable and not only due to the power unit’s output: “It’s a bit nervous from an engine point of view, but that’s not the biggest thing. I can’t push at anything, the car won’t let me. I’m not really in control of the car”.
Towards the race
Attention now shifts to the race, with the opportunity for everyone to put what they learned in the Sprint to good use, starting with how to tackle the formation lap. The key will be the management of the left front tyre, affected by graining which showed no signs of abating over the course of the weekend. Russell remains the number one candidate for victorybut, between Antonelli and the Ferraris, China could offer a pleasant blue dawn.
