(Motorsport-Total.com) – Kimi Antonelli has set another exclamation mark in the Formula 1 title fight at the Monaco Grand Prix. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was particularly impressed by the speed of his protégé in the race.
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Before the safety car deployment after Lance Stroll’s accident, Antonelli had already built up a lead of around 30 seconds on the iconic street circuit.
“We were surprised by this pace ourselves,” Wolff admits. “The lap times he drove were two seconds ahead of the McLarens and significantly more than one second ahead of Ferrari. And that lap after lap like clockwork.”
“Why that was possible on a track that we wouldn’t have considered our strength before the weekend, I don’t know.” Because Mercedes had assumed before the weekend that they would be put under strong pressure, especially by Ferrari, on the narrow streets of Monaco. But the competition could not seriously threaten Antonelli in either qualifying or the race.
The Mercedes driver not only won his fifth consecutive race but also secured a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. Starting from pole, the Italian led every single lap and also set the fastest lap of the race.
In the drivers’ standings, he extended his lead to 66 points. At the same time, he set a new record: At 19 years, nine months, and 13 days, Antonelli is now the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to achieve a Grand Slam. He undercut Max Verstappen’s previous best by almost four years.
Qualifying Lap Causes Amazement
While Wolff was surprised by his driver’s dominance in the race, the strong form had already been evident in qualifying. There, Antonelli secured his fourth pole position in Formula 1. A special achievement, especially in Monaco.
“Here, even more than on many other tracks, you have to completely merge with the car and be absolutely in the flow,” says the Mercedes team boss, adding: “That’s why it’s so difficult on George’s side: if you lose that confidence, it’s very difficult to be fast here.”
“With Kimi, we already saw in Q2 that he was very strong. When we then went into the final qualifying segment, I thought: This will be impossible.” Especially the laps of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen had left an impression.
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“When I saw Charles Leclerc fly through the Swimming Pool section, that was the fastest I’ve ever seen a car there – at the absolute limit and sideways. And then Max Verstappen even surpassed that,” Wolff marvels.
But Antonelli stepped up again in the decisive moments: “We followed Kimi’s lap, we had the live GPS data, and it looked like he wouldn’t make it. But then he suddenly made the difference in the last two corners, took pole position, and when we later watched the onboard footage, it was simply incredible. That lap was incredible.”
Russell Falls Behind
With the victory in Monaco, Antonelli solidified his position at the top of the championship. His lead over teammate George Russell is even 68 points.
Before the start of the season, Russell was considered the strongest internal challenger in the title fight. In recent weeks, however, the Brit has been plagued by bad luck multiple times. In Monaco, a drive-through penalty set him back after his team had not properly served a previously imposed penalty.
Despite the now significant deficit, Wolff continues to believe in Russell’s qualities. “Sometimes luck is on your side, sometimes it’s not,” says the Mercedes team boss. “It has nothing to do with suddenly not being able to drive anymore. It’s about having a car you feel comfortable with and trust, so you can be fast. That’s the reality.”
Wolff also emphasizes that the performance fluctuations are not due to driving deficiencies. “Formula 1 is about physics, not mysticism.”
“You don’t suddenly unlearn how to drive, and you don’t become a miracle driver overnight. I’m not worried about his performance at all, because we know he’s one of the best,” he says, backing Russell.
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