Hamilton "has been so much help in my career so far," admits Antonelli after his …
Originally published by F1Technical
Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Barcelona‑Catalunya Grand Prix ended in disappointment, a race that had promised a great result before collapsing in the final laps.
What began as a strategically disciplined drive toward second place turned into a painful reminder of Mercedes’ lingering reliability concerns in the first year of the new regulations.
Mercedes had executed the opening phase cleanly. George Russell launched perfectly from pole, while Antonelli settled into third, managing tyres and pace as the team tried to decode Lewis Hamilton’s aggressive three‑stop strategy unfolding behind them.
With Hamilton charging, Mercedes committed to a two‑stop approach, hoping track position and tyre life would be enough to fend off the Ferrari threat.
But the Virtual Safety Car swung the race decisively away from them, handing Hamilton a cheap stop and leaving the Silver Arrows watching their two drivers fight each other once again.
Antonelli, undeterred, delivered one of the most impressive stints of his rookie season. He carved six seconds out of Russell’s advantage, closed onto his teammate’s gearbox, and executed a bold move into Turn 1 to take second place. It was a moment that underlined both his speed and his growing authority within the team. And then, almost immediately, everything unraveled.
A sudden power‑unit issue forced Antonelli to pull off the circuit and retire from what had looked like a guaranteed podium. His frustration was clear, but so too was his composure as he reflected on the setback.
“It is very disappointing to retire from P2, but these things can happen in racing. George suffered an issue in Canada and now it's happened to me; we know our reliability is something we need to work on and I am sure the team will be pushing incredibly hard to improve that.
"It's more important points that we've lost but we must remember that it is the first year of these new regulations and we are all learning quickly.”
Antonelli also made a point of congratulating the race winner — and a driver who has played a significant role in his development.
“Congratulations to Lewis (Hamilton) on his victory today. He is a great driver and has been so much help in my career so far. I am pleased to see him up there once again as he really deserves it.
"I think we had the pace today to challenge him for the win, but the Virtual Safety Car came out at a bad time for us, and we didn't get to see how things would have played out.”
Looking ahead, the Italian remained focused and determined, refusing to let the disappointment overshadow the team’s progress.
“We have one week without racing before returning in Austria. We have seen our competitors take a step forward here this weekend and we will need to raise our game there if we want to fight for victory again. We will pick ourselves up, learn from this weekend, and come back stronger.”