Antonelli claims he has "been struggling since the European season"
On the back of two tough days so far over the Belgian Grand Prix, weekend, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been left to rue several limitations that have hindered his performances since the start of the European leg of the season.
In Saturday's sprint race, George Russell started from P13 on the grid, whilst his team-mate Kimi Antonelli lined up in P19 after both drivers were hampered in Sprint Qualifying on Friday.
In a quiet race, Russell made up one position to come home P12 with Antonelli advancing two positions to P17, leaving Mercedes with no points to collect.
Qualifying proved a tricky affair too with the car struggling for the pace needed to fight for the front two rows of the grid. In Q1, both drivers improved on their final efforts but Antonelli was knocked out in P18.
Reflecting on his challenging day at Spa-Francorchamps, Antonelli has admitted that he has struggled to "find confidence" in his Mercedes W16.
“Since the European season, I've been struggling to find confidence with the car, and I feel like I've made a backwards step. It's a difficult moment for me, because I feel like I have no confidence in pushing.
"Yesterday [in sprint qualifying], I tried to push a bit too much, and then I spun, and it hurt the confidence even more. It's a difficult period," added the Italian.
Explaining his technical issues behind the wheel of his Mercedes F1 car, 'il Bolognese' said that he has suffered from several limitations that have been more difficult to overcome for him than for his team-mate Russell given his aggressive driving style.
“We know the limitation we have [with the car] is quite a lot, but with the way I'm driving, I'm just increasing the problem, and that's giving me even less confidence with the car.”
“It's just on my side, I still struggled to get up to speed quickly because the confidence is missing. There's a lot of work to do on my side, and I will try to find the light at the end of the tunnel as soon as possible.”
“Definitely, a bit more stability, because with the way I drive, I'm a bit more aggressive with the inputs, also, compared to George [Russell], I'm a bit more aggressive overall. I tend to try and carry a lot of speed into the corner. With the limitations I have, I'm just increasing the problem.”
