(Motorsport-Total.com) – After the Hungarian Grand Prix, championship leader Kimi Antonelli is more than satisfied with third position. After all, the last race weekend before the summer break had been anything but smooth for the Mercedes driver.
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“Today we got everything out of the result,” said Antonelli in the official post-race press conference. “Of course, we had a bit of luck with the VSC [and] with Oscar [Piastri]’s problems, but otherwise we just did our best.”
With third place, the Mercedes driver was able to extend his championship lead. Before the summer break, there are 50 championship points between Antonelli and second-placed Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver started the Grand Prix from seventh position. The championship leader should actually have started from fourth position, but the 19-year-old had ignored a yellow flag and was moved back three positions.
At the start, Antonelli was able to directly benefit from the problems of his teammate George Russell and gain a position. While Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen or both Ferrari drivers had gone into the Grand Prix with a two-stop strategy, Antonelli and Mercedes tried a one-stop strategy.
However, the Silver Arrows decided in the second stint to bring the championship leader back into the pits. A short time later, Piastri’s retirement caused a virtual safety car, which allowed, among others, both Ferrari drivers to get new tires. Nevertheless, Antonelli rejoined the track ahead of the red cars from Maranello.
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The Mercedes driver ultimately won the close duel against Hamilton at the pit exit, as he had reached the safety car line before the seven-time world champion. Accordingly, Hamilton let Antonelli pass again after the VSC phase and paved the way for the 19-year-old to third place.
The championship leader does not speak of chances of victory after the race: “If we had started from P3, it might have looked different, but Lando had the upper hand in terms of pace throughout the weekend.”
“I don’t think we could have challenged him, especially when you consider how difficult it was to follow. Your tires just overheat.”
Ultimately, the championship leader was able to benefit primarily from the disappointing performance of both Ferrari drivers. Hamilton and Leclerc had been considered top favorites until the end of Q3. However, the Scuderia from Maranello was not to be found on the podium.
For Antonelli, not only the W13 was a problem this weekend. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff emphasizes on Sky Sport F1 that Kimi had not been used in the first free practice. “In the race,” he formulated, “it went reasonably well.”
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