Antonelli sees Mercedes making progress with latest package after Singapore

Kimi Antonelli left the Singapore Grand Prix with a podium and a cautiously positive assessment of Mercedes’ latest car package: the team was beginning to understand how to extract more from it, he said, although plenty of work remained.

The Mercedes driver said he struggled on the medium tyre but felt very good on the soft. The soft-tyre pace was especially strong at the end of Sunday’s race, he added.

Antonelli started fourth and finished third, taking advantage when Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris became embroiled in a late fight. The weekend also appeared to bring Antonelli and Mercedes a better understanding of the team’s latest upgrades; George Russell, meanwhile, had reverted to an older package.

Antonelli praised the team’s efforts to turn the car around, but said there was still plenty to do. He described the remaining task as finding the package’s best operating window and setting the car up to make the most of it.