Andrea Kimi Antonelli enjoys the lead in the world rankings, a more than deserved reward. The Italian rider worked a lot on himself, studying the regulations and his teammate. The Bolognese has thus managed to automate the counterintuitive mechanisms of this Formula 1, at the same time learning to push at the right moment without taking too many risks. There is now great anticipation to witness a direct confrontation with Russell, who has never really been in tune with Mercedes in Japan.
Making the unnatural natural
Like it or not, energy management is the keystone in today’s Formula 1. The riders do not spare criticism and Antonelli himself does not show great enthusiasm, but, unlike other colleagues, the Italian accepted the situation, learning in time how to adapt. “Many things are cumbersome, they don’t come naturally, but if you can get it right, you can make a difference,” says Kimi. For the Italian the winter break was more intense than the previous one, spending a lot of time in the simulator to relearn how to drive.
“The difference, for now, is having tried to make unnatural things more natural”says Antonelli. It’s a Formula 1 that goes against the drivers’ instincts, forcing them to lift their foot and refrain from going faster so as not to be penalized on the next straight. As many are discovering at their own cost, including Leclerc, daring more when cornering can be counterproductive. Anticipating the return to the throttle or letting the tires spin are dynamics that increase energy consumption and disorientate the battery management software, leading to losing more time on the straight than gained while driving.
“It is very important that the driver’s inputs are constant and precise, because this makes the difference”commented Kimi on the eve of the Chinese Grand Prix, admitting that he had made a mistake in qualifying in Australia when using the accelerator. To win in 2026 you need a frustrating driving style, to say the least, which Antonelli, however, seems to have mastered. This was seen perfectly in Suzuka, where on the flying lap he managed his energy better than his teammate, benefiting from it on the straight: “In my lap I gained a tenth on the straights compared to him [Russell]but it was also because of the driving style, which is a little different.”
The approach to qualification
Energy management is invasive to say the least in driving, but to be the best you still need to push the car to the limit. This is especially true in those corners where, according to FIA regulations, the use of the accelerator is separate from that of the battery, allowing you to drive without too many worries about energy. From this point of view, Antonelli has grown a lot in his approach to the weekendalready pushing in free practice so as not to reach qualifying with too many unknowns. The difficult thing is to do it without revealing too much of your cards and without taking too many risks, a mistake made in the last free practice in Australia.
However, Kimi carefully studied Russell’s approach, learning how to improve lap after lap, moving the bar higher and higher. To achieve this, Antonelli understood that he didn’t have to push everywhere and unconditionallybut that the secret lies in evaluating the relationship between risks and benefits. The Italian is learning to identify the points where there is more margin for error and the potential gain is greater, refraining from committing imprudent actions in the less profitable curves.
In China and Japan, the blue Mercedes driver finally managed to improve lap after lap in qualifying. The next step now will be to put everything together over the weekend more and more oftenespecially at the start. In Shanghai, at the start of the Sprint Antonelli paid for the lack of thrust from the turbo due to a procedural error, while in Suzuka the opposite happened, starting slowly due to the rear wheels slipping, due to the finger slipping from the clutch lever.
Russell will be back and not just him
While waiting for the restart, Kimi is enjoying the lead of the standings, pervaded by that renewed confidence in his abilities that only victories can give. All this does not erase the awareness that the gap in experience makes Russell still the favorite for the title, recognizing his superiority in some areas. “George still has a bit of a difference in fast corners compared to me”, admitted Antonelli after the pole achieved in Suzuka.
In Japan Russell struggled with the balance of the W17 throughout the weekend, reporting oversteer exacerbated by the set-up changes made after the third free practice session. In China, however, it was a technical problem that compromised his preparation for the decisive lap in qualifying, forcing him to settle for second place on the grid. There has not yet been a comparison to the best of their respective possibilities this year between the two Mercedes drivers. In Australia, for example, Antonelli had raced without the team being able to fully restore the set-up, having little time to reassemble the car after the crash in practice. On that occasion, Kimi had nevertheless shown an excellent race pace, fueling the anticipation for a direct challenge between the two, perhaps already in Miami.
Anyway, it is still too early to say that the world championship fight will be a private matter between the Mercedes drivers. Between ADUO, developments and possible FIA regulatory interventions, the competition will have their opportunities to rise again, especially the reigning world champions. “There McLaren is still using the Barcelona aerodynamic package”, observes Kimi. “I imagine the next one they bring will be an important step”. Furthermore, the Papaya single-seater is learning to make better use of the Mercedes power unit, so much so that in Brackley they are confident of being able to enter the fight between Russell and Antonelli in the medium term.
