Antonelli: “I pushed too early, the tire wasn’t ready, the front row is fine”

Mercedes double in Sprint Qualifying 68 thousandths separated George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Sprint Qualifying for the Canadian GP which recorded pole position for the English driver who returned ahead of the World Championship leader. Antonelli explained that he exaggerated by launching after a preparation lap: “I decided to launch immediately (Russell did the same, ed.) but the soft tire wasn’t ready, it was cold – Antonelli explained to Sky’s microphones – in the second lap I didn’t make good use of the grip. However, I’m happy because I’m not far from George’s time, considering the lap I did I thought it would be worse”. Tomorrow Mercedes will check whether the innovations introduced in Canada to improve starts – new software and new clutch lever – will be truly effective: “In free practice the starts went better, now we have to capitalize tomorrow. The updates? They are working well, but we still need to optimize the package”. Click here to add Formula Passion as your favorite source on Google Discover: you will find our content more easily!

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-23 08:15:00