Kimi Antonelli admits the Dutch Grand Prix weekend has been a good wake-up call

[p]The 19-year-old finished fourth in the sprint, after ‌qualifying fifth, that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]Russell[/a] won from pole position to claw ‌back three points in the title battle as the second half ‌of the season kicked off.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Antonelli[/a] then qualified third for the ‌grand prix with Russell ahead on the front row and alongside McLaren's pole-sitter and reigning champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Lando Norris[/a].[/p][p]The Italian won five races in a row ‌early in the season but has since ⁠had only one victory in ‌the last five.[/p][p][b]"I don’t feel any extra pressure. But it was a ​very good wake-up call this weekend, that you can never lower your guard,"[/b] said Antonelli, who is 53 points ​clear of Ferrari's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Lewis Hamilton[/a] and 56 ahead of Russell.[/p][p][b]"I did a mistake yesterday and today I did a mistake in ⁠Q3 (the final phase of ​qualifying). It’s not that I’m driving more tense or anything, but I just feel this weekend is a good wake-up call, and to just again put things in the right place at the ‌right time and just deliver the result when it counts."[/b][/p][embed guid="1b3c08bc-1e53-4b0f-89b6-98ac09bf2f39" url="https://x.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/2091235202526044491" social-type="twitter" /][p]On Friday Antonelli had gone off track across the gravel, damaging the floor of his car, in sprint qualifying.[/p][p]Mercedes patched up the damage but reckoned the loss of downforce cost him a significant amount in the low speed corners.[/p][p]On Saturday the Italian said a mistake at the start of his final lap had potentially cost him pole position at a circuit where the winner on Sunday ‌has always started at the front of the grid since ​the race returned in 2021.[/p][p][b]"I lost a couple of tenths. ‌It was my mistake. A shame for that as we had a real shot for pole,"[/b] said Antonelli.[/p][p]Team boss Toto Wolff felt Russell could have said the same.[/p][p][b]"Kimi had a mistake in sector one, so that would have probably cost ⁠him a tenth or so, ⁠but the same with ‌George in the last sector,"[/b] he said.[/p]