Kimi Antonelli makes important point over Austin F1 track limits battle

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli believes the nature of the Austin F1 track is adding further complications for drivers in their battle against track limits.

Across Friday practice of the United States Grand Prix, a total of 207 laps were deleted for track limit violations as drivers struggled to stay within the white lines of the bumpy Austin circuit. 

Antonelli, who finished in second place in FP2, 0.042s behind pace-setter Charles Leclerc, has had an ongoing battle with track limits himself at times in 2026, and was fortunate to escape a five-second penalty in Singapore - only doing so after Mercedes proved one of his violations came after a technical issue with the brakes.

Turning to the problem at Austin, Antonelli pointed out that the layout of the circuit was, in part, enticing drivers to push further and risk a track limits breach. 

"It is not easy; it is a difficult track with a lot of elevation changes, and also the wind in some corners is quite odd," Antonelli reflected on his battle with track limits.

"The track limits [violations] mainly come from mistakes; you just lock up a little, and then you go long, but the FIA is trying their best to widen the white lines.

"But it is difficult; it is not easy, and when you try to discover the limit, it is normal that you get [track limits], but it is also the fact that you have so much tarmac.

"In some corners, we have so much tarmac, and the green bit on some of the exits is very grippy, so that also pushes you to use even more track. 

"I know it is going to be [an issue as] everyone got a lot of track limits, and it is not easy.

"But that is why in FP3, it is going to be important to find the limit and understand how much you can push in a corner without doing track limits - so it is going to be a thing, but I will try to do my best."

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Antonelli on Mercedes F1 upgrade

As for Mercedes continuing to try to understand its Sepang upgrade, which is on both cars for the weekend, Antonelli hinted at potential progress, albeit in a narrow window.

"The car felt a bit better, and I think we did a good step compared to FP1, but there is still lots of work to do," he said.

"But it was a good step forward, and we just need to find a little bit more. [The operating window] is still narrow, and it is not easy, especially on a long run with the tyres, but the team is doing a tremendous job trying to understand the package.

"We're starting to see more and starting to understand more, and trying lots of different things just to put the car in a better window, and we're doing a good job, but there is still time to find."