Antonelli identifies key issue that left him struggling to find consistent performance over triple header

Kimi Antonelli has cited his struggles with the new C6 tyre as being one of the key reasons behind his difficulties during the recent triple header of races, with the Italian admitting that his issues with the compound “took some confidence away”.

Following a strong start to his rookie campaign for Mercedes – in which he scored points at five of the opening six races – Antonelli faced a more challenging run from Imola onwards, a weekend in which the all-new C6 was introduced by Pirelli as the soft tyre in their range.

It turned out to be a tough first home race in F1 for the teenager, ending in a retirement owing to a mechanical issue, while he went on to finish Monaco down in P18 after hitting the barriers in Qualifying before recording another mechanically-related DNF in Spain.

Reflecting back on what he had learned across this triple header sequence ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Antonelli explained: “It’s been quite a tough triple header on my side, especially because performance-wise I didn’t do that well, and then we had also a couple of issues.

BARCELONA, SPAIN - JUNE 01: Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy driving the (12) Mercedes AMG Petronas — Antonelli came away from the European triple header with no points

“But overall, I think there’s still been a very big learning on my side, especially on how to manage busier weekends. Imola was incredible in terms of how busy it was and also time in front of the home crowd, and I definitely didn’t manage things the best way.

“So overall, it’s been quite tough – not the way I wanted. But luckily, after these three difficult weekends, we had a week off and now I feel ready to be back on track tomorrow.”

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When pushed on what was holding him back during the last three races – given the contrast to his form earlier in the season – Antonelli responded: “I think, above all, the new C6 [tyre] – [in] Imola and Monaco – I’ve been struggling to find the consistency in the tyre, just to find the consistent performance of the tyre.

“The C6 seems to be a super picky tyre, and it’s really difficult to put it in the right window already from the out lap. That’s what I’ve been struggling with. In Imola, I was having such a swing of performances between sessions.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 12: Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team — Antonelli is hoping to get on top of his issues with the C6 tyre in Montreal

“In FP3 in Imola, I remember we were up there, and then in Qualifying I suddenly lost five or six tenths compared to FP3. So I’ve been really struggling to understand the tyre and to put it in the right window, and that took some confidence away.

“That’s why I feel in Barcelona it was nice to get back into the rhythm. But at the same time, especially at the start of the session, it took me too long to get into the rhythm. That was also because I had two really difficult Qualifying sessions in the previous two events. So definitely, I think that was the main issue.”

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After not being used in Spain, the C6 tyre has returned as part of Pirelli’s selection for Montreal. Despite his previous struggles with it, Antonelli is confident that the work he has put into this will pay off at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

“During the week we had off, I spent a couple of days at the factory doing some sim work and also trying to analyse the C6 – analyse when it went well, why I was able to extract the performance, and when it went badly, what I did differently,” the 18-year-old said.

“I’ve been understanding quite a few things. Obviously, Montreal is a completely different track – close tarmac, a lot of low speed, and also quite cold eventually. So I’ve been trying to really work on that in order to have a better idea, so I know how to behave better, especially this weekend.”