Andrea Kimi Antonelli has said the inherent layout of the Circuit of the Americas is responsible for the track limits violations during the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix weekend.
Antonelli has struggled at times to keep his W17 between the white lines this season, with multiple run-ins for track-limits violations across the 17 races so far.
At Austin, Friday running saw others struggle with track limits, too, with the stewards deleting as many as 207 laps across FP1 and FP2.
The Mercedes driver discussed this trend and surmised that the layout of the circuit, along with the windy conditions, has contributed to drivers pushing their luck beyond the outer edges of the track.
“It is not easy; it is a difficult track with a lot of elevation changes, and also the wind in some corners is quite odd,” he said.
“The track limits [violations] mainly come from mistakes; you just lock up a little, and then you go long, but the FIA is trying their best to widen the white lines.
“But it is difficult; it is not easy, and when you try to discover the limit, it is normal that you get [track limits], but it is also the fact that you have so much tarmac.
“In some corners, we have so much tarmac, and the green bit on some of the exits is very grippy, so that also pushes you to use even more track.
“I know it is going to be [an issue as] everyone got a lot of track limits, and it is not easy.
“But that is why in FP3, it is going to be important to find the limit and understand how much you can push in a corner without doing track limits – so it is going to be a thing, but I will try to do my best.”
Kimi Antonelli delivers Mercedes upgrade update ahead of F1 US GP
The Brackley-based team has decided to fit its Sepang upgrade package on both cars for the race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas.
Antonelli described the car as being a step forward, albeit operating in a very “narrow” window.
Looking forward to the rest of the weekend, the current championship leader revealed that the team were putting in a “tremendous” effort to optimise the W17 for qualifying and the main race on Sunday.
“The car felt a bit better, and I think we did a good step compared to FP1, but there is still lots of work to do,” Antonelli added.
“But it was a good step forward, and we just need to find a little bit more. [The operating window] is still narrow, and it is not easy, especially on a long run with the tyres, but the team is doing a tremendous job trying to understand the package.
“We’re starting to see more and starting to understand more, and trying lots of different things just to put the car in a better window, and we’re doing a good job, but there is still time to find.”
The 20-year-old can become the youngest-ever F1 World Champion if the results fall his way at the US GP.
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