Kimi Antonelli reckons a solution to his poor race starts in the 2026 Formula 1 campaign must be quickly found – labelling it as a “fundamental” issue.
The Mercedes driver has lost 18 positions on lap one across the first three rounds of the season, yet he still leads the championship after winning in China and Japan.
There are various reasons behind his lap one struggles, as a lack of battery power cost him at the Melbourne opener, while in Japan he suffered from wheelspin after dropping the clutch too deep.
It comes amid changes to the race start procedure under the new-for-2026 regulations, as drivers must now rev their engines high for at least 10 seconds to spool up the turbo following the removal of the MGU-H.
This comes with safety concerns though, and changes have been made ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix where the FIA will test a so-called “low power start detection system”.
It is capable of identifying cars with significantly low acceleration shortly after clutch release, triggering an automatic MGU-K deployment “to ensure a minimum level of acceleration”.
Race start
Photo by: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images
But Antonelli still doesn’t think that will be the solution to his woes, as the 19-year-old said in Miami: “My issue is more fundamental, so I think it’s not that this tweak is going to help me massively.
“We have been doing some practice starts, of course, in the break. We’ve been working with the team to try and recognise what’s the issue and we seem to have found it.
“Now we’re trying to obviously think about a solution as soon as possible and then obviously we know where to work on for the solution.
“So, it’s not going to be that straightforward because it needs a change on the clutch paddle and a little bit on hand positioning as well, so definitely it’s not going to be as straightforward.
“But we are doing our best to find that solution as soon as possible in order to be able to do decent starts. But definitely, we recognised that my issue was much more fundamental.
“Now we’ll see in Miami if we can do a step forward and then obviously we have another break after Miami, so more time to work on and to find that solution.”
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Pirelli
Montreal is the round after Miami on the 22-24 May and Antonelli is expected to arrive still in a title fight with team-mate George Russell, who he currently leads by nine points.
When asked about how he’s coping with the mental pressure of his first F1 championship battle, Antonelli replied: “For sure, there will be a lot of pressure in case the opportunity comes.
“But we’re in a really good position and obviously the goal is to maintain this position until the end of the year. But for sure it’s going to be a tough fight because, first of all, I have a very strong team-mate who is up there and is always there, delivering the performance.
“And then, Ferrari, they’re close; McLaren, definitely we’ll see this weekend much better their true pace; Red Bull, they will definitely get closer.
“So I think on my side, I’m just going to try to focus race by race, not trying to think about the end result or championship, just trying to stay present in the moment, just trying to do my best and focus on the progress.
“I’m very well aware that it’s not going to be easy and that the pressure is going to be high, but I’m also aware that if I just focus on my things without worrying too much about the rest, then we can do great things.”
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