Antonelli reveals the reason that led to his dismal start at Singapore

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli admitted that he had difficulties during the second phase of his start, which saw him lose two places on the opening lap.

Hot on the heels of his dominant display at the Singapore Grand Prix, Mercedes driver George Russell admitted that the Brackley-based outfit struggled to understand why its W16 was so strong on a track where it had not expected to favour its car.

Having grabbed pole position on Saturday, George Russell led off the line in Singapore. The Briton delivered a dominant performance in the opening stages of the race to build up a healthy lead from the chasing pack.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris then looked much more comfortable as the track rubbered in, and Russell slightly struggled to get the hard tyres to work.

However, Verstappen could never get close enough to apply any pressure and he was able to secured his second victory
of the season.

Russell’s team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not have a good getaway, dropping behind Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc on the opening lap.

Although the Italian spent the majority of the race behind the Ferrari driver, he pulled off a rare overtake on the Monegasque to climb back to fifth at the flag.

Reflecting on his race, Antonelli admitted that he had difficulties during the second phase of his start which saw him lose two places on the opening lap.

"I struggled with some wheelspin in the second phase of my start and that cost me into turn one. I lost two positions, and my race was a fightback from there.

"It was a tough race physically but I’m happy with how I managed to battle back. The pace was good, and I was able to gain a position back with a good move on Leclerc. We could have achieved more tonight but P5 is still OK.

Signing off with a word for Russell’s victory, Antonelli added: "Congratulations to George on a great win and a brilliant drive. That is a great result for the team and really helps us out in the Constructor’s.

“Congratulations to McLaren too and everyone at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains on another Mercedes powered title."