By JAMES ELLINGWORTH AP Sports Writer
On the grass courts of Wimbledon or racing through the Belgian forests, what matters is staying in control.
Kimi Antonelli heads into the Belgian Grand Prix with a piece of advice he picked up recently from Roger Federer.
After a run of car problems cut into the Italian’s Formula 1 standings lead, Antonelli’s chat with the tennis great in the Royal Box at Wimbledon offered a fresh perspective on how to stop these blips turning into a slump.
“About pressure, he just told me to really focus one race at a time, just focus on what you can control, and also to control the emotions, especially the ones that can make you do mistakes,” Antonelli said Thursday.
“Those were the main pieces of advice. Other than that, it was an incredible experience to witness.”
So far, Antonelli seems to be staying focused, even as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton threaten Mercedes’ supremacy. Antonelli doesn’t seem to have lost any of his race-winning pace, unlike last year, when his confidence hit rock-bottom after errors on the European tracks he was meant to know best.
“I just need to maximize every opportunity I get, what I have in control, and then we’ll see what the rest will be,” Antonelli said. “It’s part of the sport and the team are doing a tremendous job to make sure that all these issues are not happening again.”
Mercedes off the practice pace
Antonelli was only sixth and teammate George Russell eighth in first practice Friday, a rare session this year where Mercedes failed to make much impression.
Instead, it was Belgian-born Max Verstappen who led the way by 0.145 of a second from Hamilton, with Leclerc third, .208 off the pace, as Ferrari showed signs of building on Leclerc’s surprise win at the British Grand Prix.
The session ended with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri limping back to the pits with a technical problem.
Russell’s struggles
While not everything is going Antonelli’s way, at least he knows why. His more experienced Mercedes teammate Russell is finding his problems harder to fix.
A second-place finish for Russell at the British Grand Prix was more about luck than speed, as he benefited from Antonelli’s car trouble, a crash for Max Verstappen and a strategy blunder for Hamilton.
Russell cut Antonelli’s lead to 25 points but said he felt “less satisfied” with that home podium finish than he had breaking down from the lead in Canada.
The fast, sweeping Belgian circuit has key similarities to Silverstone. That could pose a challenge to Russell and offer an opportunity to Ferrari.
Leclerc and Ferrari were surprised he had the pace to win in Britain and they’ve been working since then to understand what worked so well to deliver that pace this weekend, too.
Mercedes remains the team to beat and “should be a lot further ahead” in the standings by now, Hamilton told Sky Sports.
Norris hits another setback
One driver who almost certainly won’t be in contention for the win is Lando Norris. The defending champion comes into this week’s race with a 10-place grid penalty after McLaren switched out a troublesome electrical part on his car.
His teammate Piastri spent Thursday stressing he trusts McLaren’s assurances he’ll stay with the team next year despite reported interest in signing Verstappen.
Four-time champion Verstappen left his future open Thursday but had warm words for Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies, who started his tenure a year ago with a stunning win for Verstappen in a sprint in Belgium.
After Verstappen fumed at Red Bull’s “dangerous” car after back-to-back crashes caused by rear wing failures, the team is going back to an older design this week, potentially affecting Verstappen’s pace.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing