Source: Official Team Post via X
Toto Wolff Applauds Antonelli's 'Miracle Lap' in Austin Qualifying
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli clinched pole at the United States Grand Prix with a stunning qualifying lap. Team Principal Toto Wolff admitted astonishment at Antonelli's performance, which outshone expectations.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was left in awe as Kimi Antonelli delivered what he described as a 'miracle lap' during qualifying at the Circuit of The Americas. Despite strong showings from Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc in the earlier qualifying segments, it was Antonelli who secured pole position with a blistering lap time of 1m 34.035s.
Antonelli, however, did not manage to complete his second flying lap due to a minor slip-up. Nevertheless, this did not cost him as Red Bull's Max Verstappen also failed to improve his time, allowing the Italian to hold onto P1—a position he has now secured for the seventh time this season.
Wolff expressed his surprise at Antonelli's outstanding performance, especially in comparison to George Russell, who finished in P6, over four-tenths of a second behind his teammate. "To be honest, George's lap is what we expected the car to do," Wolff remarked to F1 TV. He admitted that the team was not entirely satisfied with the car's setup and recent upgrades, making Antonelli's lap all the more impressive.
This pole position is Antonelli's first since the Belgian Grand Prix and marks a significant success for Mercedes after introducing a major upgrade package in Malaysia. Initially, the upgrades did not provide the expected results, but they seem to have paid off in Austin, where Antonelli now has a chance to secure the Drivers' Championship.
Wolff commented, "We brought an upgrade package two races ago which didn’t perform as we expected. We had a guest that asked me what I expected from Qualifying and I said something between P3 and P5. Now we have a car on pole position and it looked very strong, so the car has it in it to be fast—we just need to understand why."
Looking forward to the race, Wolff acknowledged that while the car might not match the race pace of the Ferraris and Verstappen, there's optimism about Antonelli's potential to maintain his lead. "George, we just need to bring forward. We need to score points for the Constructors’ Championship, so both drivers matter very much tomorrow," Wolff concluded.