28/07/2025 12:40
Kimi Antonelli revealed that Mercedes were "too cautious" in
deciding when to switch to slick tyres in the Belgian Grand Prix,
but it was due to wanting to avoid a repeat of its Silverstone
nightmare. In the British Grand Prix, Mercedes got its strategy
all wrong in the wet conditions, with Antonelli having, ultimately,
retired from the race due to being hit by Isack Hadjar in the
midfield. Following a Q1 exit in Spa-Francorchamps and a power
unit change, Antonelli started at the back in what was initially
very wet conditions. The race was red-flagged due to poor
visibility on the formation lap, before resuming 80 minutes later
after four laps behind the safety car. All drivers had been on
intermediates, but all switched to slicks in the opening stages due
to a rapidly drying circuit. Antonelli had been eager to make an
early switch to slicks to gain an advantage, something which worked
for Lewis Hamilton who gained several positions. However, Mercedes
opted to play it safe, a decision the teenager understood. Any
hopes for a surge through the field were ended when the circuit
dried, as Antonelli's large rear wing hurt his top speed along the
straights, resulting in P16. "Well, the car felt better with a
bigger wing," Antonelli told select media, including RacingNews365
. "I felt much better in places where I was struggling a lot.
"Yeah, it was just a shame because, obviously, with the delayed
start, it turned out it was a dry race pretty quickly. We couldn't
really use the bigger wing, because despite being much quicker in
the corners than in the straights, it was really hard to keep up.
"And it was a shame, because the only opportunity I had to pass
Ocon, I went a little bit wide, and I [touched] a wet patch, and
then just had no grip and he made the switch back. And then after
that, the tyre was starting to suffer, and I just couldn't get the
run. "But, still it's learning, difficult conditions. Also, I tried
to call quite early the switch. But because of Silverstone as well,
we probably were a bit too cautious on that, we wanted to wait a
bit more. "And I think that's where we lost some positions as well.
But on the other hand, I think driving wise it was better this race
and and I just need to keep working for qualifying."
