Kimi Antonelli has conceded that he was “a bit stressed” ahead of his pole-setting lap in Qualifying at the British Grand Prix, despite going on to secure his fifth P1 Sunday grid slot of the season.
Having claimed provisional pole during the first laps of Q1, Antonelli had to keep his rivals at bay on the final runs – but the Italian appeared concerned when he was sent out on track first, leading him to question Race Engineer Pete Bonnington about why this was.
Despite his worries, the Mercedes driver went even quicker on his decisive effort with a lap of 1m 28.111s, a time that would prove unbeatable to his competitors. His nearest challenger was Charles Leclerc, who will line up in P2 on the grid ahead of Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton.
Asked after the session about the lap – and about his concerned radio message ahead of that final run – Antonelli explained: “I was a bit stressed because I never really like going first for the last run.
“But yeah, the last lap was very tidy, I have to be honest. It all came together. It was very tricky with the wind because it was very gusty and unpredictable. But yeah, we built our way through Qualifying, and to bring home pole is very satisfying.”
The 19-year-old was also quizzed on whether the team had made many alterations to the car in the gap between the Sprint and Qualifying.
“No, we didn’t change the car at all,” he answered. “It was just about the differential, brake migration, and driving. We worked around it and managed to find a good setting that helped me to progress through Qualifying.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Antonelli acknowledged that he remained wary of the threat posed by the Ferrari pair.
“For sure. It’s not going to be easy,” the championship leader admitted. “I’ve got two Ferraris behind me, and for sure they’re going to work together.
“But their pace is good, and ours was strong in the Sprint race. So hopefully we can keep that tomorrow, and hopefully we can do a good race.”