Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix from the pitlane after a qualifying session that saw him knocked out in Q1.
The Italian rookie has had a miserable weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, which started with a spin during qualifying for the Sprint Race, in which he finished 17th.
Antonelli’s second quarter of the season onwards has been a struggle, having begun his debut year with a number of special and impressive moments.
Points in his maiden race, a pole in Sprint qualifying in Miami, and whilst he truncated his downturn in with a podium in Canada, the return of the European season has seen further struggles.
After qualifying, Antonelli was downcast, indicating he was at his lowest ebb since beginning his F1 journey.
“Since the European season I’ve been struggling to find confidence with the car and I feel like I’ve done a backward step,” hetold media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s a difficult moment for me because I feel like I have no confidence on pushing. Yesterday I tried to push a bit too much and then I spun, and then it kind of hurts the confidence even more.
“With the way I’m driving, I’m just increasing the problem. And that gives me even less confidence with the car.”
Antonelli pins poor form on ‘forced’ driving
Antonelli explained that his attempts to change his driving style is perhaps a reason for the recent poor form.
“On my side I’m probably trying to change the way I’m driving too much,” he admitted. “And it feels like I’m not driving naturally. It’s very forced, the way I’m driving, and it’s just difficult.”
The 18-year-old revealed how it differs to the way team-mate George Russell drives the W16, acknowledging that the car’s balance is key, but is struggling with this, too.
“With the way I drive, I’m a bit more aggressive with the inputs compared to George,” he explained. “I’m a bit more aggressive overall. I tend to try and carry a lot of speed into the corner. And with the limitation I have I’m just increasing the problem.
“So on my side I’m trying to change a little bit the way I’m driving to also have the balance. Because, of course, it’s impossible to have the perfect balance. I’m just trying to work on that side, but it’s not easy.”
With an uphill task at Spa facing him, Antonelli said he will “try to find the light out of the tunnel as soon as possible.”
READ MORE – George Russell: Mercedes has taken ‘big step backwards’ amid F1 Belgian GP struggles
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