How Antonelli aims to keep his momentum despite the F1 April break

Formula 1 world championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli was probably the biggest loser out of all the drivers in the unplanned April break.

Having taken back-to-back wins in China and Japan, the latter giving him the lead in the drivers’ standings for the first time in his career, and a dominant Mercedes package at his disposal, losing the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix to build on his early form somewhat stalled his momentum – while it gives others a chance to regroup and recharge ahead of Miami next week.

Antonelli, who has kept busy by taking part in a Pirelli F1 tyre test, a filming day at Silverstone and almost any driving he can get permission to do from his team, is a teenager on a high who just wants to keep racing but the outbreak of war in the Middle East denied him that opportunity.

The 19-year-old, who also became a homeowner for the first time earlier this month, has conceded losing momentum from the opening rounds is a concern, but one he aims to alleviate in Miami.

“The goal is to be back from where we left off, or even better. I've been trying to work hard physical side, prepare, there's a lot of preparation ahead of Miami,” Antonelli said in Mercedes’ Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show which has recently launched.

“With the cancellation, it was not the best, because when you have such a momentum, you just want to keep going. You don't want to stop, we just want to be back strong and rebuild the momentum in order to be able to carry it for the rest of the season.”

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Pirelli

Adjacent to his momentum worry is F1’s rule tweaks to soothe safety concerns and improve racing, which the teams and drivers will all adapt to in Miami. Adding a complication is it being a sprint weekend, leaving just one practice session to adjust to the changes, along with any upgrades Mercedes is set to deliver at the Floridian event.

Practice in Miami has been extended by 30 minutes, making it a bumper 90-minute session, to provide teams and drivers more time to get up to speed before going straight into sprint qualifying.

“It's not going to be easy because obviously there's this rule change and it's going to change things a little bit. But all in all, we'll try to prepare the best way as possible,” Antonelli added.

“We've got so many great tools. Definitely a lot of simulator, especially ahead of Miami, but it's going to be a challenge.

“Sprint weekends are always a challenge. Only one practice and then straight into qualifying and you have to be on top of it. You have to be straight on the rhythm because you want to build momentum and then you want to be able to carry it.”