Andrea Kimi Antonelli has urged his Mercedes team to “keep raising the bar” after feeling the battle from his Formula 1 rivals on his way to a Sprint Race success at Silverstone.
The Italian was able to extract more from his Mercedes than polesitter Lewis Hamilton could from his Ferrari, to breeze past midway through the race and take victory.
George Russell moved from fifth on the grid to fourth, but was unable to mount any further challenges on Hamilton or third-placed Lando Norris.
Antonelli ups his points tally in the Drivers’ Championship, and sets himself up for race pace for the Grand Prix that will boost his chances of taking further leaps towards a maiden Drivers’ Championship success.
After the race, Antonelli explained how it was important to find a “rhythm” after overtaking Hamilton, with which he opened up a gap at the finish.
“Yeah, it was very fun in the first 10 laps with Lewis. We were both pushing very hard, and when I got into overtake, I knew my chance was coming,” he said.
“And then out of [Turn] 4, that lap was very close. I went alongside [at] Brooklands, he used the boost, and I decided to wait, and then obviously going into Stowe, I used everything I had, and then I was able to overtake.
“And from that point on, I just tried to get into my rhythm and just try to break the overtake that he had, and then just try to bring home.”
Antonelli warns Mercedes: F1 rivals ‘are coming’
Despite showing considerable strength of the Mercedes W17 package, heralding a still-existing gap to Ferrari, Antonelli was cautious about the team resting on its laurels, with McLaren putting up a good showing, and with Red Bull showing newfound strength last week in Austria.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously the momentum is there, and we’re doing a great job together with the team,” he said. “But of course, you know, we can’t let our guard [get] lower, because Lewis and Ferrari have done an incredible job, and Red Bull and McLaren, they’re coming, and also the George is super quick, so we just need to keep raising that bar and, you know, keep delivering performances.”
Antonelli will be looking for a way to edge out Hamilton in qualifying later today, to enable the possibility of dominating the race.
READ MORE – Kimi Antonelli overthrows Lewis Hamilton to take convincing Silverstone Sprint victory
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