Andrea Kimi Antonelli achieved another top-five finish in just his third race for Mercedes, having impressed everyone with his tyre management.
The 18-year-old narrowly broke one of Max Verstappen’s record for being the youngest driver to lead a race by three days, and also the youngest driver to set a fastest lap in a Grand Prix.
Antonelli’s pace on the hard tyres at the end of the race caught the eyes of everyone, with the Mercedes driver lapping quicker than the leaders and showing that it was possible to extend the first stint.
Anthony Davidson felt McLaren missed out by not utilising clean air with either of their drivers, as this is ultimately what enabled Max Verstappen to maintain his gap having only lapped one car throughout the entire 53-lap epic.
The pace from Antonelli gave a glimpse at what to expect from the youngster, but it would not have been possible without the help of a former Mercedes man in Valtteri Bottas.
Valtteri Bottas helps ‘lost’ Kimi Antonelli regain confidence
Antonelli’s pace on Friday was nowhere near teammate George Russell, with the Italian roughly half a second off his best lap time.
Suzuka is a highly technical circuit and one that rewards drivers who take risks, as shown by Max Verstappen’s gamble on the lower downforce setup in his Red Bull.
When speaking to The Race, Antonelli revealed that he had to rethink his entire approach after what happened during Friday practice: “I had to make such a step in driving from free practice. I was very lost in practice.
“I really had no confidence to push more and to progress, and I was kind of like stuck from where I finished in FP1. So I headed into qualifying with very little confidence and having to make a really big step in driving.”
Mercedes enlisted the help of the experienced Bottas for Antonelli, who gave him a lot of pointers on where to save time according to journalist Michael Schmidt when speaking on the Formel Schmidt podcast.
“According to Mercedes, Bottas did a very good job of coaching. He gave some tips on how to get the tyre temperature right so that he has grip in that first sector. It worked in all of the runs after that,” said Schmidt.
- READ MORE: Valtteri Bottas’ life outside F1 from girlfriend to wine and gin
Cadillac should think seriously about Valtteri Bottas a contender
Bottas current role at Mercedes is their official third driver, which extends to their customers after he was seen testing a McLaren at Barcelona in the days leading up to the Japanese Grand Prix.
With his wealth of experience proving to be vital for Antonelli, it is likely not going unseen in the F1 paddock. Bottas had a fairly unspectacular career at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate and was often referred to as the ‘wing man’ while the Briton went on to achieve all the glory.
But Bottas is a team player and given the right car he can achieve great results, and the transformation of Antonelli’s fortunes would make him a perfect fit for a team like Cadillac.
The US car giant plans to join the grid in 2026 and Cadillac has expressed interest in hiring an American talent. Any driver who comes from the US will have limited knowledge of the Pirelli tyres, but this is where Bottas could come into play with his wealth of experience.
Cadillac will want a safe pair of hands to rely on and Bottas could be that, and he’s stayed busy by keeping involved at Mercedes. It could be one last role of the dice for the Finn, having expressed interest in wanting to stay with Sauber during its transition to Audi.
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