Kimi Antonelli: F1 race starts issue is "fundamental" and needs solution

Race start

Race start

But Antonelli still doesn’t think that will be the solution to his woes, as the 19-year-old said in Miami: “My issue is more fundamental, so I think it’s not that this tweak is going to help me massively.

“We have been doing some practice starts, of course, in the break. We’ve been working with the team to try and recognise what’s the issue and we seem to have found it.

“Now we’re trying to obviously think about a solution as soon as possible and then obviously we know where to work on for the solution.

“So, it’s not going to be that straightforward because it needs a change on the clutch paddle and a little bit on hand positioning as well, so definitely it’s not going to be as straightforward.

“But we are doing our best to find that solution as soon as possible in order to be able to do decent starts. But definitely, we recognised that my issue was much more fundamental.

“Now we’ll see in Miami if we can do a step forward and then obviously we have another break after Miami, so more time to work on and to find that solution.”

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Montreal is the round after Miami on the 22-24 May and Antonelli is expected to arrive still in a title fight with team-mate George Russell, who he currently leads by nine points.

When asked about how he’s coping with the mental pressure of his first F1 championship battle, Antonelli replied: “For sure, there will be a lot of pressure in case the opportunity comes.

“But we’re in a really good position and obviously the goal is to maintain this position until the end of the year. But for sure it’s going to be a tough fight because, first of all, I have a very strong team-mate who is up there and is always there, delivering the performance.

“And then, Ferrari, they’re close; McLaren, definitely we’ll see this weekend much better their true pace; Red Bull, they will definitely get closer.

“So I think on my side, I’m just going to try to focus race by race, not trying to think about the end result or championship, just trying to stay present in the moment, just trying to do my best and focus on the progress.

“I’m very well aware that it’s not going to be easy and that the pressure is going to be high, but I’m also aware that if I just focus on my things without worrying too much about the rest, then we can do great things.”

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