Antonelli admits Turn 1 error cost him Dutch GP pole as title lead stays intact

Kimi Antonelli blamed a costly error at Turn 1 for missing out on Dutch Grand Prix pole, leaving the Formula 1 championship leader third on the Zandvoort grid behind McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

Antonelli qualified 0.133 seconds off Norris and 0.031s behind Russell, having taken fourth on his opening Q3 run. With rain threatening, the 19-year-old said he overcorrected his approach to the Turn 1 hairpin on his final flying lap and surrendered two tenths in the first sector alone.

“I made a mistake in Turn 1, especially seeing the rain — let’s say I went in too slow and lost a lot of time,” Antonelli told Sky Sports Italy. “So it was a mistake on my part, but it’s still a third position.”

The Italian had already endured a difficult weekend. Floor damage sustained during an off at the penultimate corner in Friday’s sprint qualifying cost him an estimated 25 points of downforce, leaving him fifth on the sprint grid. He recovered to finish fourth in that race, behind winner Russell, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Norris.

“I did a mistake and that definitely took some confidence away,” Antonelli said. “And also today in qualifying, mainly because the feeling was not really there with the car. I still struggled to find my rhythm and to put the lap times together.”

Despite the setbacks, Antonelli enters Sunday’s race — the final Dutch GP to be held at Zandvoort — with a 53-point championship lead over Lewis Hamilton, who starts fifth, and 56 points clear of third-placed Russell.

Antonelli said he intends to race aggressively rather than protect his advantage. “The mindset is the same: on the attack, but using my head. If the opportunity presents, you take it. Otherwise, you wait and see how the situation develops. But I definitely don’t want to drive a defensive race.”

Strategy and tyre management could prove decisive from third, with Antonelli hinting Mercedes may look to differentiate their approach to give him a route past the cars ahead.