Kimi Antonelli will start the Bahrain Grand Prix from third on the grid after initially believing he would line up fourth. Qualifying had been difficult for the Mercedes driver, who struggled to find the performance level he had become accustomed to from his car. He finished five-tenths behind polesitter Max Verstappen, then learned he had gained a place because Isack Hadjar, who qualified ahead of him, was given a grid penalty.
Antonelli reacted straight away, before he had fully taken in the news. “Yeah, I mean… wait, I’m starting P3 tomorrow?” he said with a smile. When Barretto explained, “Yeah. You get Hadjar’s penalty,” the driver replied: “Oh! Oh, that’s not too bad!”
Hadjar’s penalty came from using his seventh internal combustion engine of the season. For Antonelli, the move up the grid was welcome news after a difficult qualifying session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he crashed in Q1. He will therefore begin the Bahrain event from third, although the promotion does not erase the struggles he faced in qualifying.
Formula 1After heat-related symptoms among drivers at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, George Russell says the FIA should help teams make cooling vests more widely available. He says Mercedes did not commit the resources needed to develop a sufficiently robust solution.
Formula 1McLaren described a moment shared by Oscar Piastri and Harry at Sepang as “heartwarming”. The meeting, arranged during the Bahrain Grand Prix schedule, brought the young karting enthusiast, who has beaten leukaemia twice, a garage tour and advice from the Australian driver.
Formula 1Max Verstappen has reached the podium at every race weekend since his crash at Zandvoort. In Malaysia, he added his first pole of the year, saying Red Bull’s progress and rivals’ struggles in the heat had helped.
Formula 1George Russell was eighth fastest, but both Mercedes drivers will move up a place on the grid after Isack Hadjar’s engine penalty. The team is still trying to understand why its new upgrade did not translate into stronger qualifying performance.
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