Antonelli says “big meeting” with Mercedes after Monza led to Baku turnaround

Andrea Kimi Antonelli says his return to form at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix followed a productive meeting with his Mercedes team.

The rookie scored his second-best result of the season with fourth place in Baku, having finished no higher than ninth over the previous six rounds. He is hopeful the result signals an upswing in his form.

“After Monza I had a big meeting with the team and that helped a lot as well to shift the focus,” Antonelli told the official Formula 1 channel. “It was good.

“I think after Monza many things changed and everything since then has gone smoothly and as planned. So we just need to keep focusing on the process, on driving well and do everything right, and then the results will come.”

After scoring points in all bar one of his first six grands prix, Antonelli endured a poor run until Baku, aside from his breakthrough podium finish in Canada. A combination of car problems, driving errors and difficulties with the team’s simulator lay behind Antonelli’s lean spell.

He is hopeful he has turned the page and admitted he was disappointed to fall short of finishing on the podium again at the last round.

“It was a good weekend,” he said. “Definitely the best way to bounce back after a difficult period in Europe.

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“I was still a bit annoyed after the race because the podium was just so close. But still if I look back it was a really positive weekend, definitely what I needed to shift the momentum.

“So I’m really looking forward to this weekend. A new track, a new challenge, but we’re ready to do our best.”

Mercedes’ car has tended to perform better in cooler temperatures this year, meaning this weekend’s race in the heat of Singapore may prove challenging for them. Antonelli is unsure how competitive they are likely to be.

“It’s really hard to say because where the car has been strong last year – where we were supposed to be strong this year because last year they were good – we weren’t super-good. And in the places where they struggled last year we were strong this year. So it’s tough to say.”

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