Sports · Motorsport · 2 days ago
Antonelli says Mercedes upgrade car is difficult to drive in Singapore
Kimi Antonelli said his upgraded Mercedes was difficult and unpredictable to drive during Sprint Qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix.
He qualified seventh, more than half a second behind teammate George Russell, who qualified second.
Mercedes is comparing two versions of its car in Singapore: Antonelli is using the recent upgrades, while Russell has returned to an older version.
The upgrade package had not delivered the improved performance the team hoped for at its debut in Malaysia.
Antonelli said the team still had a lot to understand about the new package and expected a difficult weekend.
He said he would try to improve his driving while engineers looked for changes to the car.
The drivers will race in the Sprint on Saturday, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the team may consider introducing future upgrades in smaller steps.
Kimi Antonelli said Mercedes’ upgraded car was difficult and unpredictable to drive during Sprint Qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Antonelli qualified seventh, more than half a second behind teammate George Russell, who qualified second while using an older car specification.
Mercedes is comparing the upgraded package with the earlier version in Singapore; Antonelli is using the latest specification, including an additional front wing.
Antonelli said the team still had much to understand about the upgrades and that he could not see where to find the seven tenths separating him from the pole time.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said the team may consider introducing upgrades in smaller steps after the recent package did not perform as expected.
- Who
- Kimi Antonelli and the Mercedes Formula 1 team
- What
- Antonelli criticized the handling of Mercedes’ upgraded car after qualifying seventh for the Singapore Grand Prix Sprint.
- When
- October 9, 2026
- Where
- Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore
- Why
- The upgraded car was difficult and unpredictable to drive, and Mercedes is still trying to understand why the package did not perform as expected.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The car is very difficult, very unpredictable, and very difficult to put a lap together.
I don't really see where we can find seven tenths.
So, it's something which we will look at in the future of saying maybe we'll do smaller steps, and then if there is a warning light saying, 'OK', it's easier to undo.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Antonelli's qualifying position
- Seventh
- George Russell's qualifying position
- Second
- Gap Antonelli cited to pole
- Seven tenths of a second
- Circuit
- Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore
- Car specifications compared
- Antonelli used the latest upgrade; Russell used the pre-Malaysia version
Sources
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