Antonelli reflects on “so difficult” conditions and McLaren’s intermediates gamble in Montreal

Fresh from securing his fourth Formula One victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli offered insight into the tricky conditions at the start of the race — and his reaction when he saw McLaren commit to Intermediate tyres while the rest of the field stayed on slicks.

The opening laps in Montreal were defined by uncertainty. Light drizzle fell on the grid, the track surface was inconsistent, and tyre warm‑up was a major challenge. But while most teams opted for slicks, McLaren rolled the dice and sent both cars out on Intermediates — a gamble that ultimately backfired.

Antonelli explained just how difficult the early laps were: “Yeah, I mean, it was so difficult. It was not easy situation because it started to drizzle a little bit harder.

"You could see it was starting to get a little bit wet but we knew, at least we were quite confident that it wouldn’t have lasted that long and that you could survive.”

Mercedes therefore committed to slicks, trusting the track would dry quickly. Antonelli said: “So obviously went for slicks.”

He admitted he was surprised to see McLaren take the opposite approach: “And of course I was surprised to see the McLarens on inters, especially because I think they were the only ones.

"So, of course, it was a massive gamble and of course if it would have started raining it was very good for them, but it didn’t. So, yeah, of course it was not the best.”

The opening laps were treacherous even on the correct tyre: “But the start was not easy, especially very easy to lock up, kerbs were a little bit sketchy in the first, at least first couple of laps. So it was not easy condition, but then once the car started running, the track was fully dry after a few laps and was fine to race.”