Andrea Kimi Antonelli has explained how he turned around his performance in the Japanese Grand Prix, having felt he was driving “really 🌞baℱdly" at the start of the weekend.

Antonelli broke the record for the youngest driver to lead a grand ✨prix, having briefly hit the front in his first stint before stoppin💮g for hard tyres.

Mercedes driver 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Antonelli faced one of the biggest challenges of his rookie season at the Suzuka Circuit, one of𒁃 the hardest 👍circuits on the F1 calendar.

The young Italian “felt lost” during practice as he struggled to get to grips with the 5.8km circuit, finishing more than a second off the pac𒁏e in FP2. The loss of track time in a red-flag disrupted FP2 session certainly didn’t help his cause.

Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest-ever F1 grand prix leader

However, Antonelli was able to gain the confidence he needed in the W16 when it mattered the most, qualifying his car sixth a solid sixth on Saturday and just two tenths behind teammate 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell.

But even more impressive was his performance on race day, as he managed to extend his first stint on medium tyres to 31 laps. Even Ferrari’s 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton, who started on the white-marked hard rubber, co♓uldn’t go as long as the driver who replaced him at Mercedes.

That first stint allowed Antonelli to push hard on hard tyreꦦs in the second half of the race, where he set a new fastest lap en route to sixth place.

The result also helped 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Mercedes remain ahead of Red Bull in second place in the constructors’ championship, despite 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen💦 converting pole p🅘osition to victory in the lead RB21.

Antonelli admitted that he need🌠s to start race weekends on a stronger note, but was nevertheless happy with his final result in Japan.

“I'm a bit disappointed with howജ FPs went,” said 🅠the 18-year-old. “FP1 was actually quite OK. But then FP2 and FP3 was really bad driving, to be honest, and that took the confidence away.

“Bu🔥t then in quali was able to make a big step forward.

“He added: What I'm most happy about today is the confidence that I had in the car👍 and the cꦚonfidence to push, which I didn't have on Friday and the start of Saturday.

“The feeling that I had 🌼in the car is the most important today. I had a really good feeling and I was able to explore the limit and to push and to play with the car as well.

“So definitely for next ▨time I needꦍ to start a bit better for FPs so I am a bit more prepared for qualifying and then we see in the race.”

Antonelli explained that his struggles this week🌸e♕nd were down to a lack of understanding of tyre behaviour at the newly-resurfaced Suzuka circuit.

The famous esses section in the opening sector puts a lot of stress on tyres,🔯 while also playing a s🌊ignificant role in how a car performs over the remainder of the lap.

“I w🌱as also trying to strike the best out of the tyre, especially in sector one,” he said,

“In FP I was always arriving with no real temperature in the tyre and w꧂as just sliding around the first sector and that was taking 🌞confidence away.

“I really changed the warm-up. I was having a 👍consistent warm-up every run. It really🍸 helped to build the confidence, so that was a good learning.”