Kimi Antonelli now sits 84 points clear at the top of the Drivers' Championship after securing a P2 finish at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, even as he insists that the Mercedes team still has "a lot of work to do".
Starting from third on the grid in Sepang, the Italian made the bold and correct choice to bolt on intermediate tyres for the mixed conditions at lights out. That decision immediately paid off when he swept past polesitter Max Verstappen on the run down to Turn 1.
[Reliability is] why it’s really important that whenever I go on track, especially with things in my control, I need to make sure that I do my best,
While an early Safety Car—brought out when Valtteri Bottas beached his car in the gravel—saw Antonelli lose ground to the Dutch driver, he successfully fought off a challenge from teammate George Russell to reclaim second place. Antonelli admitted that after the start, he genuinely thought victory might be on the cards before the race settled into a rhythm behind Verstappen.
That P2 finish was already on course to extend his championship advantage by three points when drama struck the other side of the Mercedes garage. Russell suffered a race-ending suspected power unit failure on Lap 50 behind another Safety Car, delivering a heavy blow to the Briton’s already slim title aspirations. Antonelli called the retirement a big shame for the team, noting that reliability issues have plagued them this year following his own power unit retirement in Barcelona and Russell's previous DNF in Canada.
Despite extending his commanding lead, the 20-year-old made it clear that he takes nothing for granted given the team's ongoing struggles. "[Reliability is] why it’s really important that whenever I go on track, especially with things in my control, I need to make sure that I do my best," Antonelli explained.
Reflecting on the weekend as a whole, the Mercedes driver was pragmatic about the machine underneath him. "Massive congrats to Max and Red Bull for the incredible weekend," Antonelli said, acknowledging that second place was simply the limit of what their package could deliver on the day.
