Kimi Antonelli has said that his decision to miss FP1 at the Hungarian Grand Prix was "probably not" the correct decision after his qualifying struggles.
Antonelli will start at least fourth in Hungary as Mercedes was defeated in qualfiying for the first time in 2026, with Lando Norris scooping pole position for McLaren, with Ferrari taking second and third, although Lewis Hamilton is expected to take a penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri - thus demoting him from second.
Antonelli struggled for balance and feeling from his W17 throughout the session, but, like Piastri, had 60 minutes less practice after stepping out for FP1 to hand over to Fred Vesti to complete his quota of missing two FP1 sessions for a young driver.
The world championship leader stepped out in Barcelona, but track conditions in Hungary have been a surprise, with dusty conditions being mixed in with gusty wind conditions and the track surface breaking up in places earlier in the weekend.
Reflecting, Antonelli felt he would have been better served to delay his second FP1 benching to obtain a quicker "rhythm" with the car and to unlock the set-up.
"I mean, for sure, I think I picked probably not the best race to miss FP1, because the conditions are much more challenging than anticipated," Antonelli told media, including RacingNews365.
"The car is much more difficult to drive, so for sure, it was not ideal because maybe with FP1, I could have worked a bit better on the set-up and starting off right and having better input.
"And getting into the rhythm with driving, so for sure, it was not ideal, but at least now, I don't have to worry about it anymore.
"The lap before the last corner was terrible, and I knew there was going to be a bit of time to be found there, but obviously it was a shame, but these things happen.
"For sure, we would have been P3, but still not good enough for P1, and I think we were going to be seven, eight-hundredths shy of pole, which is still surprising, especially after where we were at the end of Q2."
UPDATE: Antonelli will now start sixth after a three-place penalty for not slowing enough under yellow flags.
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