Mercedes has revealed that issues with its Formula 1 simulator contributed to recent disappointing performances from rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli scored fourth place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which hailed as a good “rebound” amid technical issues throughout the season.
The 18-year-old produced a composed drive to fourth place in Baku, a result that was highly deserved following a difficult run during the European leg of the season.
Whilst his more experienced rivals struggled on the tight city circuit, Antonelli impressed with his calmness behind the wheel, narrowly missing out on a podium behind Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
This result was significant in the wake of criticism from team principal Toto Wolff, the Austrian labelling Antonelli’s Italian Grand Prix performance as “underwhelming,” as the hometown driver finished ninth.
This continued Anotonelli’s tough run of luck in the past weeks, as he had not seen the chequered flag in Zandvoort after taking out Charles Leclerc.
With only two points scored across the double-header, pressure was mounting for him to steady his campaign.
Antonelli beset by Mercedes sim issues for Zandvoort and Monza
However, Mercedes has since revealed that problems with its simulator undermined Antonelli’s preparations for both Zandvoort and Monza, leaving the rookie ill-prepared for the intense double header.
Whilst this doesn’t account for why Antonelli did not perform at his best, it does give an insight into his struggles over his races.
Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin admitted the team had to share responsibility for Antonelli’s difficulties.
“With Zandvoort, he came in for a simulator session, and we had some issues that meant he wasn’t really able to do the prep there,” Shovlin explained.
“He then makes a mistake in FP1. Well, I think we need to own a bit of that responsibility and that we couldn’t do the normal prep.”
Despite this, Antonelli’s Baku performance benefited from a full and uninterrupted simulator session. According to Shovlin: “He was with us last week and did a very big day, doing two or three race distances of equivalent mileage, preparing here.”
The Baku result and preparations leading up to the weekend left Antonelli and Wolff pleased with the outcome. Antonelli himself credited his practice mileage in Azerbaijan for his improved performance, even if he would have preferred finishing third.
“It’s been a difficult period with the European season, with all the criticism and difficult moments,
“But we managed to do a good result, and now the important thing is to do this consistently.”
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