Kimi Antonelli secures victory at Japanese Grand Prix
Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive Formula 1 victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, crossing the line more than 13 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, yet the young Mercedes driver was left seething at his own performance off the starting grid, reports BritPanorama.
The Italian’s W17 was sluggish when the lights went out at Suzuka, causing him to tumble from a strong qualifying position down to sixth place as rivals quickly swarmed past. Despite the commanding margin of his eventual triumph, Antonelli expressed his frustration at the error that nearly cost him dearly.
“I cannot say but I was very mad,” he admitted in the post-race press conference. Antonelli provided a detailed breakdown of what went wrong at the crucial moment, explaining that he released the clutch deeper than intended, which proved catastrophic when combined with tyres that had not reached optimal temperature.
“Just when I think I dropped the clutch a bit, you know, too deep, deeper than what I should have and obviously the tyres were also a bit colder,” he said. The Mercedes bogged down due to insufficient traction for the aggressive clutch release, leaving Antonelli surrounded by cars that had been behind him moments earlier. Battling through the field, he found overtaking particularly challenging due to differing energy deployment strategies with the cars ahead.
His fortunes changed dramatically when Oliver Bearman crashed his Haas, bringing out the Safety Car to clear the wreckage from the circuit. This intervention proved pivotal for the Mercedes driver, enabling him to make his pit stop without surrendering track position. Once the race resumed with Antonelli back at the front, his superior pace became evident as he pulled clear of the chasing pack with apparent ease.
Without the Safety Car’s timely appearance, Antonelli conceded the outcome would have been far less certain. Reflecting on his victory at the iconic Suzuka circuit, Antonelli expressed mixed emotions about his performance. “It’s nice to be back, you know, on the top step,” he said. “Obviously a very special win, a very special track but, you know, on one side I’m very happy but on the other side I’m a bit disappointed with how the start went.” He acknowledged that his race starts require significant improvement, describing them as “definitely not good enough” and admitting he is making his own life considerably harder.
In the high-stakes world of Formula 1, where every second counts, even a champion finds that the road to victory can be bumpy, reminding us that the pressure to perform often brings out the best—and worst—in athletes.
