Kimi Antonelli was knocked out in the first part of qualifying at Albert Park, with sparks flying from underneath his Mercedes.

The Italian rookie missed out on Q2 by just 0.09 seconds, having battled hard to no avail after picking up extensive floor damage on his Mercedes W16.

Kimi Antonelli explains damage to Mercedes W16

Antonelli had finished in the top five in the final practice session, less than three-tenths off the pace set by George Russell as the British driver pressured McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for top spot.

But Antonelli’s day fell apart early in Q1, with TV footage showing the underfloor of the Mercedes scraping along the ground to an unusual extent – to the point where the leading edge of the bib was glowing due to friction against the tarmac.

While F1 cars run very low, it was clear something was amiss on the W16 – and this was borne out by Antonelli failing to make it through into Q2, while Russell went on to finish in fourth place.

Speaking to media after his elimination from Q1 in his very first F1 qualifying session, Antonelli revealed that his car had been damaged as a result of running over the kerbs at Turn 6.

“I did the same line, to be honest, as FP3,” he said.

“It’s just there was a big plot of gravel on the kerb and, when I went through it, I picked up quite a bit of damage.

“I was losing quite a bit on the straights, first of all, because the floor was scrubbing on the track, and then lost quite a bit of aero load because, obviously, the floor was not aligned as well – one part was on the tarmac, scratching. So it definitely was quite important.”

Mercedes has high hopes that the 18-year-old Italian will deliver upon the potential seen in him, having turned to him to succeed the departing Lewis Hamilton for F1 2025.

But, while damage undid his best efforts in qualifying, Antonelli was upbeat about trying to turn things around in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

“The pace of the car is there,” he said.

“It’s very tight, because every team now is getting closer to each other, but that’s why it’s quite disappointing. Because, definitely, we could have fought for a much better position.

“Tomorrow, obviously it’s raining, so many things can happen. We’ll try to build something good from there.

“I think FP3 was very, very positive. That’s why the result is quite disappointing because I felt we could have done for a much better position, but it is what it is, and we try to move on and see what we can do tomorrow.”

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Andrew Shovlin: Floor damage impacted Kimi Antonelli significantly

While Antonelli just missed out on Q2 by a miniscule margin, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin admitted that his day wasn’t likely to go any further even if he had made it through.

“Kimi was unfortunate having run over the exit kerb at Turn 6,” he said.

“That caused floor damage that impacted his performance significantly, both on the straights and in the corners.

“He did his very best to get the car through to Q2 but, even if he had been able to do so, it’s unlikely that we would have been able to make the necessary repairs to get him back out there.

“We can be encouraged by his progress through the weekend though, and the pace he has shown on both the single lap and the long run.

“Whilst he’s starting out of position, the wet weather may afford him the chance to make good progress up the field.”

With team boss Toto Wolff saying that such incidents are all “beneficial for his learning”, the attention now turns to the prospect of rain affecting the race on Sunday – trying conditions for any driver, let alone a rookie in his first Grand Prix.

“It’s gonna be my second-ever time in the wet so it’s gonna be fun, I think,” Antonelli said.

“I really like the rain. Obviously, this track seems a bit tricky but I think we can do something good from there.

“The car felt good, to be honest. It’s just that the damage changed the situation with the car a lot.”

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