In Monaco, Kimi Antonelli could face a major obstacle on his path to victory, according to Jolyon Palmer
According to Jolyon Palmer, Kimi Antonelli could run into serious trouble at the Monaco Grand Prix due to his poor starts so far this season. “In Canada, the run-up to Turn 1 is quite short,” the expert explains on F1 TV. “In Monaco, the run-up to Turn 1 is even shorter.”
“But in Canada, you at least have a few overtaking opportunities. If he doesn’t get a handle on that by Monaco, he could be on pole without having a chance at victory. He needs to work on that.”
The Monaco street circuit is generally considered one of the tracks where Formula 1 cars have great difficulty successfully overtaking. Criticism of the crown jewel of Grand Prix racing has been correspondingly loud in recent years. Nevertheless, Formula 1 is set to race in the principality until at least 2035.
So far, the starts by both Mercedes drivers have been anything but impressive. Nevertheless, Antonelli in particular stands out time and again for losing numerous positions on the first lap.
In Miami, too, the 19-year-old struggled with his starts, though team principal Toto Wolff cited technical errors by the team in both cases. Nevertheless, Antonelli had emphasized self-critically on race Sunday: “It’s still not acceptable.”
“Especially on a weekend like this, where the gaps are so small, that can be decisive for the race. We have to work on it together with the team. Yesterday in the sprint, the procedure went well, but the level of grip we had expected wasn’t there.”
Antonelli also noted: “That has to come from the team, but above all from me. I’m still too inconsistent, especially with the clutch. I lack confidence and consistency there. I still feel a bit unsure, so that has to improve.”
“But today went better than yesterday. Yesterday I was really frustrated, but today I was able to keep a cool head. It was a bit better; I was able to keep going and focus on the race.”
Antonelli leads the World Championship standings ahead of his teammate George Russell. To date, the Italian is the youngest World Championship leader in Formula 1 history.
