Andrea Kimi Antonelli identified how he “kept it a bit cool” to overcome fluffing the start of the Miami Grand Prix, en route to securing his third straight Formula 1 success, saying the error was “not acceptable”.
The Italian was slow off the line again at the Miami International Autodrome, losing his pole position at the first corner to Charles Leclerc’s fast-starting Ferrari.
Antonelli was then engaged in a battle with Lando Norris for the win, overcoming late gearbox issues to cement a 20-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship over Mercedes teammate George Russell, who was fourth.
His gear selection gremlins appeared and quickly disappeared in the final stages of the race, and revealed to media, including Motorsport Week, afterwards that he had “two or three laps” where he was struggling to downshift, followed by being unable to upshift from seventh gear to eighth, admitting it was “a little bit stressful.”
When posed a question about another poor getaway, Antonelli was able to make light of it, suggesting it was still an improvement on his Sprint start on Saturday.
“Today, to be fair, was not as bad. I think I lost two places. [In the] Sprint, I lost six. A little bit better,” he joked.
“But still, it’s not acceptable. I think, especially in a weekend like this, that the gaps are a lot closer, it can really change the race.”
‘Inconsistency’ and ‘uncertainty’ still linger for Antonelli
Antonelli added that there are still areas where he knows he must improve to continue his rapid growth as the title fight progresses, but acknowledged that he channelled his disappointment of a bad start on Sunday better than Saturday.
“I think it’s a point where also together with the team, because yesterday, for example, in the Sprint, procedure-wise was good, but just the grip level that we thought there was just not there,” he said.
“I think also with the team, but for sure mainly from me, because I’m still a little bit inconsistent, especially on clutch drop, but I still don’t have that confidence on being consistent with that.
“I still have a bit of uncertainty, so it’s a big point that needs to be improved. But I think yesterday, I managed it better than yesterday.
“Yesterday, I was very frustrated, and today, I just kept it a bit cool, a bit better, and just managed to move on and focus about the race.”
Antonelli has three weeks to prepare for the next round in Canada, the circuit where he took his first podium last year.
READ MORE – Kimi Antonelli resists Lando Norris to extend F1 title lead in Miami masterclass
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