New world champion Kimi Antonelli said he will be "ready for anything" in Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix when he starts alongside 2025 champion Lando Norris on the front row.
Elevated one place thanks to Mercedes team-mate George Russell's five-place penalty for taking new power unit parts, the 20-year-old Italian was satisfied, but self-critical after finishing third in Saturday's rain-hit qualifying.
"I was a bit too cautious I think," he said.
"I was trying to understand this track in the wet for the first time and it has always been dry here so far in the past. But I felt good in the dry and not so good in the wet!
"I made two big mistakes and it wasn't ideal, but all in all I think that tomorrow, we have a good chance."
He added that he felt cautious about the weather ahead after the long stormy session on Saturday.
"It was very tricky. To be fair, I didn't really know what to expect. Obviously, I have never driven here in the wet, so I didn't know what was coming and I struggled a little bit on the inters.
"I made a big mistake, almost went off in Turn Five, but it still was enough for P3, so I’m happy with that.
"Let's see what the weather is – but overall, you know, I am going to be ready for anything as the weather has been very unpredictable. We will try to be ready for anything."
Russell, who qualified second, was unhappy not to take pole after being told by his Mercedes race engineer to ease off on his final flying lap.
"I felt more like myself and I could fight for pole on every lap," said the British driver.
"It's the first time I've felt that confident in the car for a while and it's in the wet so I don't understand that.
"Congrats to Lando – but that lap was definitely a pole lap! It was a misjudgement on our side and we need to understand what happened. Yes, the rain was coming down but we should have finished the lap."
str/ea
