Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli left Monaco keen to bounce back after experiencing one of the most frustrating race weekends of his maiden season so far, with the Silver Arrows coming away empty handed.
The Italian driver’s competitive running was brought to an early end in Qualifying as he hit the wall while trying to shave time off his lap, which meant he was unable to continue and settled for P15 on the grid.
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With his team mate George Russell suffering an unfortunate technical issue and lining up just ahead in P14, Mercedes were forced to adopt an alternative strategy to fulfil the recently introduced two pit stops rule in Monaco.
They elected to go long into the race before bringing either car into the pits in the hope that there would be a late Safety Car or red flag that could grant them a free stop. As this failed to materialise, Antonelli was left as one of the last drivers to change his tyres as he dropped to last place on the track.
2025 Monaco GP Qualifying: Antonelli clips the barriers and ends Q1 in the wall
“It was quite relaxing, to be honest,” the 18-year-old said optimistically. “It was a very chill race – only on Lap 1 there was action. We were trying to go long straight away.
“I was doing what the team asked me to and we were trying to get at least one of the cars into the points. Unfortunately it didn’t work out but there was nothing more I could have done there. I was just trying to help the team as much as possible.
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“At least for the last five laps I could push, which was fun. It was also kind of expected when you start this far back in Monaco.
“You know it’s going to be hard to make up places but I also believe that I shouldn’t have been in that position. The mistake yesterday was definitely costly and I’ll make sure I don’t make it again.”
Antonelli has not scored points since the Miami Grand Prix
In a similar approach to Racing Bulls and Williams, he was able to play the team game and hold up drivers behind him to allow Russell to pit twice without losing too much time, which led to the Brit crossing the line in P11.
While it was not enough for either of them to recover to the points, Antonelli was eager to focus on the lessons he gained from the race that he can carry forward through the rest of the season.
He explained: “This was a difficult weekend. I think there was a lot to learn, especially on the set-up decision. I also understood much better how to behave and what feedback to give to the team.
“I think during the weekend, we kind of went in one direction and then started coming back to where we started so I think on my side there was good learning for the future. It was also good to manage the frustration during the race.”
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