Kimi Antonelli admits he is frustrated to be facing the task of trying to beat Lando Norris again in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after qualifying on the front row alongside the championship leader.
The same front row was seen for the Sprint on Saturday, and Norris held on for victory despite late pressure from Piastri, who appeared slightly quicker throughout the second half of the race. Qualifying saw Antonelli again in the mix for pole position but he had to settle for second, setting up a repeat on Sunday.
“To be fair, I’m a bit annoyed I’m behind him again,” Antonelli said. “I mean, we were so close this morning in the Sprint as well, but it was a very tricky session with the wind, very tricky to put a lap together, but I still managed on the last run to put in a decent lap, and I’m happy with that.
“Starting P2 tomorrow. Of course, they’re very fast, so it’s going to be important to get a good start and try to set a good pace.”
Antonelli only has one podium to his name in a grand prix so far this season, but he says he is targeting victory given the performance he has shown so far, plus a potentially favorable weather forecast for Mercedes.
“Definitely [in the fight],” he said. “The pace this morning was really strong. It was also quite cold and tomorrow should be kind of the same, so maybe that can help us a little bit more. Running in dirty air is never easy. Hopefully we can have strong pace and put pressure on them and hopefully we can fight for the win.
“We’ve seen many races so far this season that the start and track position can play a massive role for the rest of the race. Of course, Lando has been starting very strongly recently, so we need something exceptional. On my side, I just try to do a normal start, not try to do too much, and then at least hold position. Then we’ll see from there.”
Although the Italian rookie is targeting victory, he says he has the constructors’ championship picture in mind as well, as Mercedes currently sits six points clear of Ferrari and 17 ahead of Red Bull.
“It’s a massive opportunity,” he said. “I think it’s going to be important to try and finish ahead of the Ferrari, to outscore them, because obviously the fight is very tight. We can score big [against Red Bull] … so definitely that’s the goal.
“That’s why tomorrow is going to be important to set a good pace, to try and put pressure – but at the same time, to try and achieve the best result possible in the moment. [It’s] a massive opportunity, and that’s why as a team we’ll try to do our best.”
