Kimi Antonelli ‘super happy’ with P4 finish on debut in Australia after starting from P16

Kimi Antonelli was left “super happy” with his rise through the field from P16 to P4 on his debut at a dramatic Australian Grand Prix, with the youngster praising the Mercedes team for “guiding” him through a race that featured changing weather conditions and numerous Safety Cars.

Qualifying had not gone Antonelli’s way, the Italian having exited in Q1 after suffering damage to the floor of his W16 when he ran over the kerbs. And with rain arriving on Sunday at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, it looked like a challenging first race could be on the cards for the rookie.

Despite the difficult conditions – which caught many drivers out – Antonelli handled the pressure across an eventful 57 laps and worked his way up to cross the line in fourth place, which subsequently became fifth after the 18-year-old received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release from the pits.

However, following a 'Right of Review' request by Mercedes, the penalty was later overturned after the stewards reviewed footage that had previously not been available to them, meaning that Antonelli was promoted back up to fourth.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 16: Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy driving the (12) Mercedes AMG — Antonelli handled the challenging conditions to rise from P16 to P4 in his debut F1 race

Reflecting on the result from his first-ever F1 race, a smiling Antonelli said: “It was a really, really eventful race. We got all the possible conditions for a first race! Definitely not an easy one, but super happy.

“The team did a great job, I was happy also [with] how I managed even though I did a couple of mistakes which cost me a bit of time, especially with the speed.

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“But I have to say, conditions were super, super tricky, but otherwise [I’m] really happy. The team guided me really well throughout the whole race, and now [I’m] looking forward to China.”

Asked about how proud he was of the job done by both himself and the Silver Arrows across the weekend – with the teenager having seemingly got up to speed quickly amid the difficult conditions – Antonelli responded: “Definitely, I was really happy with the progression I was having in free practice.

Antonelli left ‘super happy’ after strong points finish in debut Grand Prix

“Of course qualifying was disappointing with what happened, I think I could have managed a little bit better as well from my side.

“But it was really good experience, and today was also good experience to see what happens from the back and the way I can manage to progress. Definitely really good learning, and I cannot complain about the result.”

With Antonelli’s team mate George Russell finishing on the podium in third, Mercedes are tied with McLaren at the top of the Teams’ Championship standings with a tally of 27 points.