How Mercedes use secret radio code to help Kimi Antonelli outsmart F1 rivals in Spanish Grand Prix and lead championship

MERCEDES’ secret code has put them miles ahead in the race for Formula One’s Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship. The German manufacturer looks set to pick up both titles with Kimi Antonelli boasting 292 points, 81 points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes’ secret code has put them miles ahead in the race for the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Lando Norris was left stranded on the track after missing the pit before the VSC Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The Italian wonderkid claimed top spot on the podium at the Spanish Grand Prix after cashing in on a virtual safety car following Lance Stroll’s crash. Antonelli pitted and left Lando Norris helpless. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! While there was not much McLaren could have done to help the Brit, fans were amazed at the pure speed of Mercedes’ thinking. But trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin revealed that it is all down to the secret code they have developed to alert drivers to race-changing opportunities. Speaking on Mercedes’ NU Silver Arrows Radio Show podcast, he said: “We try not to let all the other teams know what those codes are. “So, we change them every single week.” Antonelli was travelling around 15km/h slower than major championship rival Max Verstappen through the corner when Mercedes told him that he was in the safety car window. And even when the green flags were out, he did not put the pedal to the metal as Shovlin admitted the secret code is a game changer. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Kimi Antonelli boasts 292 points in the Drivers’ Championship, 81 points ahead of team-mate Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The engineering director said: “He might have got in without it, but it certainly made it possible.” And he added: “The tyres were arriving as he was stopping.” The clock counted 35 seconds between the first yellow flag and the VSC being called out. And there were just 15 seconds between the VSC being deployed and Antonelli pulling into his pit box. Meanwhile, Norris missed the pit entry by two seconds, according to McLaren. And Mercedes’ fine tuning to the narrow margins will only encourage the ongoing VSC rule-change debate. And to add to it, the fact that the tyres were ready to go as the drivers pulled in only emphasised the streamline approach that Mercedes have perfected at the top of the leaderboard. Comment now