Antonelli claims his final stint "felt never-ending"
Having grabbed a single championship point at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli insisted that his final 50-lap stint "felt never-ending."
Mercedes had looked to struggle for pace at the start of the Budapest weekend with their W16 that featured the previous-specification rear suspension.
However, George Russell went on to secure fourth place on the grid on Saturday, albeit his rookie team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli failed to qualify higher than P14.
At the start of the 70-lap Mogyoród race, Russell was opportunistic, picking off Lando Norris to run third. Although he had appeared to finish in fourth place, he managed to pick off Charles Leclerc after the Monegasue battled through technical issues. In the end, Russell finished third to claim his first podium finish since his dominant victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.
His team-mate Antonelli made up several positions at the start. The Bologna-born then committed himself to a one-stop strategy, and he racked up 48 laps on the same set of hards to finish tenth in Mogyoród, picking up a solitary point.
Reflecting on his race at the Hungaroring, the Italian conceded that he "was just hanging on" in the closing stages of the 70-lap race on his heavily-used tyres.
"That final stint was a very long one. It felt never-ending! I did close to 50 laps on that Hard tyre and by the end, I was just hanging on out of the final corner each lap and defending into turn one.
"The cars behind had superior grip but I was able to keep them behind. It felt great to get that final point as our pace in free air was good. If I can start nearer the front after the summer break, then I know we can fight for good points each weekend.
"I am really happy that my confidence in the car has come back this weekend. I leave Budapest feeling much more comfortable after moving back to the previous rear suspension.
"Yesterday’s qualifying was just a shame as the pace was clearly there. We can take this feeling into the second half of the season and look forward to it with optimism now," concluded the Italian.
