Kimi Antonelli Stays Confident Despite Early FP2 Setback at Monza

Kimi Antonelli faced another challenging day, making an early mistake that cut short his FP2 session at Monza. Despite the setback, the young driver maintains his resolve ahead of tomorrow's crucial qualifying.

Why it matters

Mercedes junior driver Kimi Antonelli's incident in FP2 at his home track, Monza, marks a critical moment for his burgeoning Formula 1 career. This follows a disappointing weekend in Zandvoort and highlights the pressure on the Italian as he seeks to impress.

The incident

Antonelli had shown strong form in FP1, securing an impressive fifth place. However, his afternoon session took an unfortunate turn just minutes into FP2. He admitted to pushing too hard for the available grip, leading to an early exit from his Mercedes car and costing valuable track time.

Antonelli's reaction

Speaking after the session, Antonelli told GPblog:

• "I pushed a bit too hard for the grip in the moment, it was a shame."
• "The day was looking good. I had a good FP1 and then start of FP2 was looking strong. Confidence still high."
• "Obviously tomorrow I will have to do a bit of a different program, but we'll try to be ready for anything."

What's next

Antonelli is determined to put this incident behind him and focus on tomorrow. He will aim to recover the lost ground and secure a strong result in what promises to be his first Formula 1 qualifying session at Monza.