Kimi Antonelli is now the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to lead the World Championship, surpassing Lewis Hamilton, Bruce McLaren, Sebastian Vettel, and another Kimi, namely Kimi Räikkönen.
Antonelli’s pace over the first three races has been overall stronger than Russell’s. The Italian is currently outperforming expectations in terms of performance and race management. Pressure is now shifting onto Lewis Hamilton, with a month to reflect before the Miami Grand Prix. His greater experience with the Venturi cars no longer matters; Antonelli can drive the car as he sees fit, particularly in slower sections. This had been the hope a year ago while analyzing the simulator after a challenging summer. Kimi has created a gap behind him with a pace three-tenths faster than his closest rivals, turning the battle into a fight for the podium.
Piastri and Leclerc have outperformed their teammates, while Lewis Hamilton did not face any Power Unit issues. The challenge was instead a higher degradation of Charles Leclerc’s Hard tires, which in turn caused higher energy consumption due to harmful wheel spin, further accelerating tire wear.
Why you can’t be too fast
On corner exit, drivers with an optimal setup gain significant advantages in energy deployment over a lap, potentially saving 1–2% of energy on each acceleration. This also depends on tire condition and driving style. In Hamilton’s case, Carlo Santi at one point instructed him to reduce acceleration by 15% on corner exit to preserve overall energy and improve lap times. Data show that Leclerc was able to carry more speed while slowing down in what Vasseur describes as a “counterintuitive” manner.
Why modern cars are more rear-limited
Ferrari understood this and pursued more aggressive rear development, delaying work on pure aerodynamic efficiency. In Brackley, expectations were fully met: the W17 will set the benchmark for many races because it offers more power and torque and never wastes battery energy—not just in qualifying but even on used tires.
Piastri had yet to complete a full Grand Prix but delivered a high-level performance, especially in the first part of the race when he could hold off George Russell. Overall, this is an excellent signal for Andrea Stella’s team: “It gives us confidence. We still have a gap to close with the chassis, but we are focused on bringing updates in the coming races.” According to sources, Woking is expected to deliver a significant upgrade package between Miami and Montreal.
The energy chess game
In Formula 1, if you make a wrong move with energy management, you lose your advantage—or the algorithm fails, as happened to Russell. The speed difference can create serious risks.
Dangerous situations are therefore not surprising. For example, approaching the Spoon curve, Charles Leclerc overtook Russell (who was out of battery) with a 50 km/h difference. Oliver Bearman had been attempting a similar maneuver but lost control and went off-track at 308 km/h. The only difference here is that Russell stayed further inside to the right and did not force Charles Leclerc onto the dirty line.
Teams divided into two main categories
Mercedes is strong across all areas. Ferrari has done well to challenge them, but it is still not sufficient in terms of energy strategy options. McLaren is now competitive. Red Bull remains strong early in the regulations, but the team is still losing around 1 second per lap despite having ample power available. Worrisome comments from drivers suggest tension and challenging scenarios ahead. Even Gasly, despite driving an excellent Alpine—the best car in the rest of the grid—was able to beat Verstappen relatively easily with a very similar race pace.
