Formula 1: hierarchies overturned with the new rules and Mercedes in crisis. Antonelli penalized finishes sixth. Controversy between Charles and Kimi, then the Monegasque apologises
The first signs were there in the tests, confirmation of how the balance of Formula 1 has changed came from the Miami Sprint. Mc Laren and Ferrari (especially Leclerc) seem to have closed the gap to Mercedes. In the Sprint in Florida the “papayas” have returned to dominate: the reigning world champion won Lando Norris took the lead from the first corner, with his teammate behind him Oscar Piastri who at the end managed to contain the overtaking attempt by Charles Leclerc with Ferrari.
Mercedes in difficulty
Kimi Antonelli he didn’t have a good afternoon, once again he failed at the start and the young Italian will have to work a lot because it’s not the first time that his car hasn’t taken advantage of its excellent position on the grid. Antonelli was on the front row, but both Piastri and Leclerc overtook him at the first corner. The nineteen-year-old from Bologna then got into a fight with his teammate George Russell managing to get the upper hand, but he made a series of mistakes and was also penalized for exceeding track limits, so he was relegated from fourth place to sixth. His performance was also unconvincing Lewis Hamilton with the other Ferrari: the Englishman never set the times of the best and finished in sixth place, managing to win the duel with Max Verstappen who finished seventh with Red Bull.
The new hierarchies
With the changes made after the first three grands prix, there appear to be three teams competing for the world title. The Mercedes that dominated the three opening races and which seemed to be 5-6 tenths faster than the other cars has lost its lead. The biggest improvements were evidently made at Mc Laren as team manager Antonio Stella had predicted during the break. Ferrari worked well from an aerodynamic point of viewbut in terms of engine power it is still far from Mc Laren, so much so that Leclerc, despite lapping with better lap times than Piastri, was never able to get close enough to be able to overtake. The Sprint therefore goes to the archives with the Mc Larens which seem to be the fastest, now let’s see what answers will come from the tests and from tomorrow’s grand prix, over which the risk of a storm looms.
The controversy
Charles Leclerc attacked Kimi Antonelli for his way of staying on the track: “Kimi is really bad at duels wheel to wheel. We keep moving while braking… we’ll end up colliding!” He said on the radio, but then Charles apologized for his words. “The radio team on Kimi? I think I was a little too harsh, but you know how it works with adrenaline in the car”, he explained to Sky. “It’s true, there have been some episodes with him and I hope that things will improve in the future, especially considering that he is the only Italian on the track and I drive a Ferrari. I would prefer certain things to happen with other riders, also because I really appreciate Kimi as a person. It’s just that sometimes it’s a little too close to the edge when it doesn’t need to be, and in this case, I got very angry. Although yes, my comment was probably a little too harsh.”
