22/04/2025 15:40
Kimi Antonelli heads into a much-needed break after conceding the
intensity of the early part of the season has made it difficult to
learn as he would have liked. Five grands prix in six weekends have
tested all in F1 to their limits, notably the handful of rookies on
the grid this year, including hot-property Antonelli who has so far
performed admirably with Mercedes. The 18-year-old finished sixth
in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday to take his points tally
to 38, and leave him sixth in the drivers' championship. Antonelli
recognises the last few weeks of long-haul races have not been
easy, affording him little time to get on top of situations and
make swift progress. "Definitely it has been a really good test,
mentally, physically," said Antonelli, speaking to media, including
RacingNews365 , when asked for his main takeaway from the last few
weeks that will stand him in good stead going forward. "I'm happy
we got through well. Luckily, I now have a week off at home so I
can gather all the information. "It's been good to have a triple
header, but every weekend there has been so much new information,
new learnings that you struggle, "You struggle a little to gather
everything together in such little time. So in this week, I will
have time to rest properly and think about these past three weeks
in order to come back stronger." Antonelli's pre-Miami focus
Antonelli has confirmed he will head to Brackley to engage in a
couple of days of simulator work ahead of the sprint weekend next
up in Miami. The Italian feels there will also be specific areas he
will want to dive into whilst at the factory. "Definitely tyre
management is getting better and better, but we still need to
review," said Antonelli. "Also, I need to see again in qualifying,
what to do best in order to put everything together because again
[in Jeddah] there was a mistake. That was not optimal, and I
probably could have started further up. "We need to see what I can
do in order to be consistent and be able to put it all together. Of
course, at the same time, every weekend, I'm trying to push more
and more to the limit. "Sometimes I go a little bit too far in some
places. So now it's time to have a look.so the next time i put it
all together, and then if I start further up in the race, then it
can be a different race."
