Kimi Antonelli has revealed the details behind his ‘weird’ Q3 session at the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix, where he compromised his laps to help teammate George Russell. The Mercedes driver entered qualifying knowing he would start from the back due to a power unit change outside his allocation.
His Saturday was anything but normal, with the priority shifting to helping Russell secure pole using the infamous Monza tow. That plan failed to materialise, leaving Russell second and Team Principal Toto Wolff disappointed.
After the session, Antonelli admitted to having ‘mixed feelings’ about his qualifying run. “It was a very weird feeling, but I had to do my job, which was to help George, and I tried my best,” he told media.
Mixed Feelings for Monza's Supporting Act
“But of course, Q3 was very weird and even the lap I did, it was an okay lap, but nothing special as I had more fuel in the car than you would normally have,” Kimi Antonelli explained. “I didn’t want to make any mistakes that would compromise the programme – which was to give the tow to George on the last lap as well.”
Detailing his lap, Antonelli revealed strict instructions not to pass Max Verstappen, making his cooldown lap stressful. “[Verstappen] did try to let me overtake, but I was very strictly told not to pass,” he said.
Strict Orders and Cooldown Stress
“On the cooldown lap, it’s really hard to build boost, so it was quite stressful being let by the whole group with no boost. In some places I was going really slowly, and I had to do really odd lines in order not to get in someone’s way,” the Italian added.
Saturday was an unusual day for Antonelli, forced to play second fiddle to George Russell, his main championship rival. Although ultimately unsuccessful, he now faces a damage-limitation race, fighting back through the field.
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