Antonelli left to rue ‘unfortunate’ Q1 elimination on F1 debut in Melbourne as Mercedes reveal car issue

Kimi Antonelli was a surprise name to fall at the first hurdle during Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, with Mercedes confirming that car damage contributed to their rookie driver’s Q1 exit.

Antonelli and team mate George Russell started Saturday afternoon’s session at Albert Park on medium tyres, before the Italian teenager – in a battle to stay above the drop zone – pitted and switched to the softer rubber.

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However, replays showed him getting close to the gravel traps on several occasions while pushing for improvements, including a particularly edgy moment through the high-speed Turn 6 flick leading onto the back straight.

Antonelli’s car was subsequently seen running very low to the ground and kicking up sparks, and despite his best efforts to progress to the Q2 phase, he was knocked out at the chequered flag by Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.

Mercedes subsequently revealed that they found bib damage on the W16 when Antonelli – who wound up 16th – returned it to the garage, with that causing “a loss of performance for his final two laps”.

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Speaking after the session, Antonelli said: “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.

“I don’t know how much it was in time, but I could feel a big loss in the straights, and then also quite a big loss in aero load. Definitely, the car was not the same as it was before that, and unfortunately it compromised the Qualifying.”

Some 12 positions will separate the Silver Arrows of Antonelli and Russell at the start of Sunday’s race, with the latter going on to secure a second-row start, but the debutant is still hopeful of taking something from the weekend.

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“Well, tomorrow it’s going to rain, so anything can happen,” he added, when asked about his chances. “We’ll try to build something good from there.”