Kimi Antonelli admits he is frustrated as he faces the task of beating Lando Norris again at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after qualifying on the front row alongside the championship leader.
The same front row was on display during Saturday’s sprint, and Norris retained the win despite late pressure from Piastri, who looked slightly faster throughout the second half of the race. During qualifying, Antonelli was again in the mix for pole position, but he had to settle for second place and set up a repeat on Sunday.
“To be honest, I’m a little annoyed to be behind him again,” Antonelli said. “I mean, we were so close this morning in the Sprint as well, but it was a very tricky session with the wind, very tricky to put a lap together, but I still managed to put in a decent lap on the last run, and I’m happy with that.
“Tomorrow we will start from P2. Of course they are very fast, so it will be important to get a good start and set a good pace.”
Antonelli has just one podium to his name in a Grand Prix so far this season, but he says he is aiming for victory given the performances he has shown so far, plus a potentially favorable weather forecast for Mercedes.
“Certainly [in the fight]’ he said. ‘The pace this morning was very strong. It was also quite cold and tomorrow should be about the same, so maybe that can help us a little more. Running in dirty air is never easy. Hopefully we can have a strong pace and put pressure on them and hopefully we can fight for the win.
“We’ve seen a lot of races so far this season where starting and track position can play a big role for the rest of the race. Of course, Lando has started very strongly lately, so we need something exceptional. For my part, I’m just trying to make a normal start, not do too much, and then at least hold position. Then we’ll see.”
Although the Italian rookie is aiming for victory, he says he also has the Constructors’ Championship in mind as Mercedes currently sits six points ahead of Ferrari and 17 points ahead of Red Bull.
“It’s a huge opportunity,” he said. “I think it will be important to try to finish ahead of Ferrari, to beat them, because the fight is obviously very exciting. We can score big. [against Red Bull] …so that’s definitely the goal.
“That’s why tomorrow it will be important to set a good pace, try to apply pressure – but at the same time try to get the best possible result at that moment. [It’s] a huge opportunity, and that’s why we will do our best as a team.”
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