Antonelli rues error after feeling ‘front row was possible’ during Qualifying for Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Kimi Antonelli was left feeling that more might have been possible after securing P3 in Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with the Italian believing that he could have reached the front row had it not been for an earlier track limits violation.

After what seemed to be a tricky day for Mercedes on Friday, Antonelli looked to have bounced back by going fastest during Saturday’s third and final practice. However, the championship leader faced an additional challenge in Qualifying when his initial lap time in Q2 was deleted due to exceeding track limits.

This resulted in Antonelli returning to the track on new soft tyres, meaning that he was subsequently limited in terms of having more fresh sets in Q3.

As such, the 20-year-old waited until the circuit was clear to record his first lap in the final segment, with his time initially putting him in P3 before being pushed down to fourth – yet he will ultimately move back up to third due to a penalty for Isack Hadjar ahead.

Reflecting back on the session, Antonelli said: “It's a shame because with only one set [of soft tyres, there was] big pressure.

“I did what I could, but definitely with another set, we could have fought for front row – not P1, because Max [Verstappen] was just too quick today. So probably front row was possible today, but obviously a shame with the track limits and we'll try to do our best tomorrow.”

After being reminded that he will start from third rather than fourth due to Hadjar’s penalty – which he admitted was “not too bad” and “good news” – Antonelli gave his take on what might be achievable in Sunday’s race.

“We'll try to do our best with what we have,” the Mercedes driver explained. “Deg is going to be very big – we'll see if it's going to be a matter of two stops, three stops.

“Also, rain is around tomorrow. So yeah, we'll try everything we can, and I’m looking forward to it tomorrow.”