Antonelli Prepares for a Competitive Miami GP, Eyes Fix for Start Weakness

As the F1 circus prepares to descend on Miami, championship leader Kimi Antonelli has his eyes wide open. The Mercedes driver expects a more challenging weekend ahead, with several teams poised to unveil upgrades and new regulations adding a twist to the mix. Antonelli, who currently sits at the top of the Drivers’ Championship with 72 points, knows he can't rest on his laurels. "It’s very exciting to be back in a place where I got my first Sprint pole last year," he reminisced. "But this year is different, with different cars, so we’ll see how that goes."

Antonelli is well aware that the competition is likely to heat up. "For sure, our rivals are going to get closer," he noted. "We might have to fight quite a bit more this weekend, but we’ll do our best and keep our heads down." It's clear he plans to focus on maximizing the car’s performance and hopes to walk away with a strong result.

Despite leading in points, Antonelli has been tasked with improving his starts, a point raised by team boss Toto Wolff. Over the first three races, he's lost a few places off the line, an issue he attributes to a "fundamental" problem. "We’ve been doing some practice starts during the break," Antonelli explained. "We seem to have identified the issue, and now we’re working on a solution."

The fix, it seems, involves more than just tweaking a few settings. "It’s a decent change on the clutch paddle and a little on hand positioning as well," he said. The Italian is hopeful that they can make progress in Miami and utilize the subsequent break to further refine their approach.

During the driver press conference, Antonelli also touched on his relationship with teammate George Russell. Mercedes has a history of intra-team rivalries—just think back to the days of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. "The team has been very clear," Antonelli said. "We can race each other, but with respect, and not doing any stupid things." This open competition is intended to push both drivers while keeping the team’s interests at heart.

Antonelli and the rest of the field will swap microphones for steering wheels when the Miami Sprint weekend kicks off with Free Practice 1. It promises to be a weekend full of intrigue, with plenty of storylines to follow both on and off the track.