Andrea Kimi Antonelli believes Ferrari’s upgraded engine has moved it on a par with Mercedes at Method 1’s Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes topped Friday apply at Monza as George Russell set the tempo in FP2 from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with championship chief Antonelli placing the third-fastest time on the board.
Regardless of Russell ending up 0.120 seconds faster than Leclerc, Antonelli urged that Ferrari has made important positive factors with the upgraded engine it has launched for its residence race.
The true efficiency of the brand new Ferrari engine won’t be clear till qualifying and the race, however Antonelli has claimed the info he has seen factors in the direction of a notable enchancment.
All eyes are on Ferrari at Monza
Ferrari has to date lagged behind Mercedes when it comes to straight-line pace and engine efficiency all season.
“Ferrari they positively took a step ahead with the brand new engine,” Antonelli mentioned after Friday apply.
“Now the speeds are the identical. We all know how good their automotive is thru the corners so for positive it’s going to be a good battle for pole tomorrow.”
Antonelli will begin his residence race from the again of the grid as a consequence of utilizing too many engine parts this season after reliability issues earlier within the 12 months.
That meant the 20-year-old Italian spent Friday’s apply operating primarily specializing in the race.
Antonelli will begin his residence race from the again of the grid
“Right this moment was a little bit of a special day in comparison with typical,” Antonelli defined.
“Much more deal with lengthy runs, so it was a bit bizarre I’m not going to lie. However total it was an excellent day. We obtained loads of knowledge and now wanting ahead to the following two days.
“It was fascinating in the long term immediately, operating behind different automobiles to see what they have been doing in another way and the place they have been deploying in comparison with us.
“So it was very fascinating. That’s why I believe we’ll collect loads of knowledge and now we’ll look ahead to tomorrow.”
Antonelli has already confirmed he’ll assist his team-mate – and direct title rival – Russell in qualifying by offering slipstream help to the second Mercedes.
