Andrea Kimi Antonelli says avoiding a poor start is his main priority after taking pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix.
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The Mercedes driver has struggled from the grid this season, with several races where he lost five or more positions on the opening lap. That record has made his starts a key focus for the team as the field prepares for the tight confines of Monaco.
Although Antonelli managed to hold position at the start of both races in Canada two weeks ago, the run to the first corner at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is relatively long compared to Monaco. With an even shorter run into turn one in Monte Carlo, Antonelli says his priority is to secure a clean launch rather than attempt a perfect, high-risk start.
“The start has been a big improvement compared to Canada,” he told Channel 4. “Here it’s a pretty short run, so we’re going to try to just get a decent start, not try to find that perfect start because it can go very badly.
“So we’ll try to get a clean start and then get into turn one and then we’ll see from there.”
The 19-year-old will line up ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who together have five Monaco Grand Prix victories. Securing pole at this circuit presents a significant opportunity, but Antonelli is aware that a good result depends on the opening moments of the race as much as on qualifying pace.
After Friday’s practice left him about half a second adrift, Antonelli said Mercedes had made substantial improvements to the car’s setup overnight.
“Today was incredibly special,” he said after qualifying. “An incredible turnaround compared to yesterday. We were struggling a lot to keep wheels on the ground. We had a lot of three-wheeling, a lot of jacking, and today the car just felt much better on that side and was giving a lot more confidence to push.”
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