Antonelli hoping to ‘finish the weekend on a high’ after taking P2 again in Sao Paulo Qualifying

Kimi Antonelli is aiming to finish the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend “on a high” after taking P2 on the grid in Qualifying, meaning that he will again line up alongside polesitter Lando Norris as he did for Saturday’s Sprint.

A few hours on from converting that previous starting position into a second-place result in the Sprint, Antonelli continued his good form into Qualifying, with his final lap in Q2 putting him just 0.174s adrift of Norris.

Reflecting on his session – and the fact that he has been making a habit of claiming P2 during the weekend – Antonelli smiled: “Yeah, I mean a bit annoying that we’re P2 again! But still a good result, a very difficult session today.

“The wind was very difficult to understand because also it was a bit gusty sometimes, so you were going into a corner with a bit of unknown, uncertainty, but I think overall we did a good session.

“The last lap was not amazing, but everyone makes little mistakes and it was still enough for P2, so tomorrow we have a lot to play for.”

When it was put to Antonelli that he has appeared comfortable with the W16 right from the start of the weekend at Interlagos, the Mercedes driver responded: “Yeah, definitely, I’ve been comfortable with the car. I felt good out there.

“I’ve been enjoying a lot driving around this track, definitely also the crowd has given me some extra motivation, some extra energy, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully we can finish the weekend on a high.”

On the other side of the garage, it was not an entirely straightforward session for Antonelli’s team mate George Russell, who was heard reporting struggles with grip and ultimately ended Qualifying in P6.

Giving a further insight into those issues after jumping out of the car, Russell explained: “I just had no grip, to be honest. It was obviously a very strange session when you look at the order, with Max [Verstappen] out in Q1, [Ollie] Bearman top three the whole session, and I was kind of in that camp of not being able to get the tyres working.

“So it wasn’t very pleasant, but P6 is definitely damage limitation considering how bad it felt.”

In terms of what might be possible in Sunday’s race – in which he will line up behind Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar – the Briton does not see himself reaching the rostrum.

“I’d like to think I can move forward, but obviously the cars ahead are still quick,” Russell conceded. “We’ve got one of the Racing Bulls ahead of us which I hope to try and get past, but I think it will be difficult to get on the podium tomorrow for me.”