Mercedes had a tougher-than-expected Saturday at the Hungaroring, with Antonelli qualifying fourth before a three-place grid penalty dropped Antonelli to seventh for Sunday’s race.
The penalty followed a yellow flag breach in Q3 after Max Verstappen spun ahead of Antonelli during the final run. Antonelli said the incident cost a possible third-place starting position.
“Yes, for sure,” Antonelli said when asked if the yellow flag cost a position. “The thing is, I had to coast all the way into the apex, and the lap before, the last corner was terrible, and I knew there was going to be quite a bit of time to be found there.”
Antonelli said third place was possible, although pole position was still out of reach. “For sure it would have been P3, but still not good enough for P1. I think we were going to be probably seven-hundredths, eight-hundredths, shy of pole,” Antonelli said.
Mercedes has been one of the strongest teams in 2026, but Hungary exposed some weaknesses as Ferrari and McLaren showed improved pace. Antonelli said Ferrari and McLaren upgrades contributed to the shift.
“We expected it, also because they all brought upgrades,” Antonelli said. “Ferrari brought a new rear wing, McLaren brought a new floor, and we haven’t brought an upgrade for downforce for a long time.”
Antonelli also said Mercedes struggled to keep tyres in the right operating window during qualifying. “I think already in the warm-up we were going over the peak of the tyres. So, just already from Turn 1, you could feel the grip was not there,” Antonelli said.
Antonelli said the car lacked traction, particularly in the final sector, which affected confidence and made Q3 more difficult. “Having to make such a huge step in Q3 is never ideal, because obviously the car changed quite a bit, and just was not so easy to extract the maximum out of it,” Antonelli said.
Antonelli also admitted that missing first practice, when reserve driver Fred Vesti took over the car, may have hurt preparation. “I think I’ve picked probably not the best race to miss FP1,” Antonelli said.
Despite the setback, Antonelli remains hopeful for the race, saying Mercedes’ long-run pace appears stronger than single-lap performance. “I think our long run looks strong. Definitely quite a bit stronger than single lap,” Antonelli said.
Antonelli heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix with a 45-point championship lead, but warned that Mercedes must keep improving.
“This year is going to be a development race,” Antonelli said. “We need to keep our heads down, because it’s going to be a fight all the way until the end.”
–F1/ChannelAfrica–
