Kimi Antonelli qualified third for the Dutch Grand Prix, but the Mercedes driver mainly felt afterwards that there was more to be gained: “I was always playing catch-up.”
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The Italian saw a chance for pole position slip away due to a mistake in the first corner. “There was more in it. In the last lap of Q3 I made a mistake in the first corner. Because of that, I lost a few tenths. Very unfortunate, because I think I could have taken pole.”
Antonelli had to acknowledge being beaten by Lando Norris and George Russell in qualifying, but the gap to pole position remained small. Especially in the first sector, the Mercedes driver lost ground. “I saw that I was two tenths short in sector one and knew it would be difficult. I was able to make up some time in the rest of the lap.”
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Still, Antonelli looks ahead to the race at Zandvoort with confidence. Starting from third place, he has an excellent position to fight for the victory. “But we’re going all out tomorrow!”
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