Mercedes later revealed that the damage affected Antonelli’s final two laps, limiting his straight-line speed and reducing his aerodynamic grip
MELBOURNE — It was a frustrating outing for Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli in his first Australian Grand Prix qualifying session, as unexpected car damage saw him eliminated in Q1. Despite early promise, the Italian teenager struggled to extract the full potential of his W16, with the team later confirming bib damage had cost him crucial performance in his final runs.
Antonelli and his teammate George Russell began the session on medium tyres before switching to softs for their final attempts. However, Antonelli’s lap was severely affected after he ran wide at Turn 6, with replays showing his car bottoming out and kicking up sparks. He ultimately finished 16th, missing out on Q2, while Russell secured a strong second-row start.
Mercedes later revealed that the damage affected Antonelli’s final two laps, limiting his straight-line speed and reducing his aerodynamic grip. Speaking after the session, the 17-year-old expressed disappointment but remained optimistic about making up ground in Sunday’s race.
“It was a bit unfortunate. On the medium (tyres), obviously, it needed another lap to come in, but then we switched to softs, and I think after T6 the car was quite damaged.
"Well, tomorrow it’s going to rain, so anything can happen. We’ll try to build something good from there," Antonelli said after the qualifying.
Another driver who endured a tough qualifying was Liam Lawson, making his Red Bull debut as a stand-in for an unwell Sergio Perez. The New Zealander looked set to advance into Q2 before a costly mistake in the final sector ruined his lap.
"The first part of the lap was fine," Lawson admitted. "We were on target, and then I just made a mistake in the last sector. I had a big slide through the high-speed, and it cooked the tyres. Then, in the last sector, I just had no tyres left, and I went off.
"Obviously, a silly mistake, one that didn’t need to happen. I think we were in a decent position, building up from the lap we were on anyway, so it’s pretty frustrating."
Lawson qualified 18th, ahead of only Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman. Like Antonelli, he is hoping the forecasted heavy rain on race day will provide opportunities to recover positions.
"If it rains, it throws everything up in the air," Lawson said. "I think I need it to rain if I want to have a chance at moving forward, so let’s see."