Kimi Antonelli faces Monaco GP concern despite extending F1 championship lead, says Jolyon Palmer

TL;DR

Kimi Antonelli has extended his F1 championship lead to 20 points after winning the Miami GP, but concerns arise over his race starts ahead of the Monaco GP. Jolyon Palmer warns that this weakness could be critical at Monaco.

Key points

Kimi Antonelli leads the F1 championship by 20 points
Antonelli won the Miami Grand Prix
Concerns about his race starts ahead of Monaco GP
Jolyon Palmer warns of potential issues at Monaco
Antonelli lost the lead to Charles Leclerc at Turn 1

Mentioned in this story

Kimi AntonelliJolyon PalmerCharles Leclerc

FerrariMercedes

Motorsport photo

Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has warned Kimi Antonelli that his poor race starts could become a major weakness at the Monaco Grand Prix.

While Antonelli extended his lead in the drivers’ standings to 20 points after winning the Miami Grand Prix, the Italian driver is still struggling with race starts. After starting from pole position at the Hard Rock Stadium, Antonelli lost the lead into Turn 1 when he was overtaken by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

While discussing the dynamics in the Mercedes F1 team after the Miami Grand Prix on F1 TV, Palmer pointed to circuits with short runs to Turn 1 as a potential issue for Antonelli.

“It's a short run to Turn 1 in Canada. It's a shorter run to Turn 1 in Monaco,” he said. “But in Canada there's still some overtaking chances. If he can't sort it out by Monaco, he could be on pole, there's no chance he'll win if he can't start there. So, that's his big thing to work on.”

Antonelli has admitted that his race starts are his main area for improvement.

“Today, to be fair, was not as bad,” the 19-year-old told the media. “I think I lost two places, sprint I lost six, so a little bit better. But still, no, it’s not acceptable. I think especially in a weekend like this, that the gaps are a lot closer, it can really change the race.