Andrea Kimi Antonelli is confident that his Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix strategy is not compromised after qualifying mistakes have left him with limited tyre options.
Antonelli is set to start his first-ever Canadian GP from the second row of the grid after securing P4 during yesterday’s qualifying session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
That said, a scruffy opening lap during Q2 forced him to use up the last of his Medium tyres to progress into the top-10 shootout.
The Italian conceded this meant he couldn’t extract the maximum from his Q3 effort, leaving him almost half a second off team-mate George Russell’s pole-setting time.
“The Medium was definitely the best tyre for us. We saw yesterday in FP2 that the Medium was definitely the better tyre,” Antonelli told media including Motorsport Week.
“But yeah, lap one in Q2 was not good enough, and then I had to use the Medium, the last Medium. It was not ideal because then I found myself with a used tyre in Q3.
“The grip was still decent, but it kind of faded away pretty quickly, especially towards the end of the lap. Then I did a big mistake in Turn 10 and lost couple of tenths.
“So, definitely the time would have been better, but still, despite the bad luck, it’s still P4.”
Going into the Grand Prix, the 18-year-old now only has one set of new tyres – the white-walled Hards – and two scrubbed sets each of Mediums and Softs at his disposal.
Both Ferrari and McLaren, however, have retained a new set of Medium tyres. When asked if this could disadvantage him, Antonelli was confident that wouldn’t be the case.
“I think a new Medium definitely gives a lot in the first part, especially lap 1, lap 2,” he began. “But I think over the race pace… I mean, we did FP2 with a used tyre and it felt good.
“Of course, the Medium is going to give you an advantage earlier on, but I don’t think it is going to be massively compromising [not to have a new set],” he concluded.
Antonelli highlights key to strong Canada result
Despite the track temperatures usually not being a concern for drivers in Montreal, Friday practice saw a lot of them struggle with graining during their long runs.
Antonelli, who also suffered from the tyre phenomenon, believes that essential for him to remain competitive is controlling tyre degradation throughout the race.
“I think this track, there’s not a lot of high speed [corners] so, the degradation doesn’t seem to be big,” he pinpointed.
“But still it is going to be important to be on the top of the graining, which was also quite severe for everyone in FP2.
“It’s going to be important to avoid that in order not to hit the cliff of the degradation.”
Temperatures were highly variable during the sessions, with the sun scorching the asphalt during qualifying.
Yet, in the hotter conditions, which haven’t always suited Mercedes in the past, the German marque was able to maintain its competitiveness over one lap.
Having said that, Antonelli is wary of higher temperatures causing problems for the team during the 70-lap race.
“We need to see the temperature tomorrow, first of all, because here it is also sensitive when there is cloud cover, so the track [temperature] drops quite quickly,” he continued.
“We’ll see, but definitely it is going to be either the front or the rear [graining]. It is going to be important to be on the top of it.
“FP2 was a really good learning, but FP2 was also quite cool, so tomorrow it is going to be important to stay on top of it, especially in the first part of the race in order to not to fall into the trap and degrade the tyre massively.”
Mercedes buoyed by suspension upgrade
Mercedes quickly shelved the revised rear suspension the team introduced onto the W16 at Imola, but that has been reintroduced to more positive effect in Montreal.
“In Imola it really was not about the rear suspension, there was something more. So, I think, you know, the car felt good throughout the weekend,” Antonelli said.
“Definitely the upgrade helps and there is still a lot to learn about this new suspension.
“But the team is doing an incredible job and yeah, we’ll try to keep developing and try to keep the same momentum also in the next few races. But now we need to focus on tomorrow.”
READ MORE — Kimi Antonelli pinpoints difficulty he must overcome in Canada
