Mercedes rear wing mod potentially decisive in Antonelli’s Monaco pole

The trick rear wing that Mercedes brought to Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix had an expected laptime gain bigger than Kimi Antonelli’s pole position margin, team sources have suggested.Antonelli secured pole position from Max Verstappen by 0.043 seconds on Saturday, after a thrilling shootout in the dying minutes of qualifying.The final result was down to a host of factors coming together – including an overnight set-up overhaul – but it was not lost on the team that the marginal gains delivered by the wing could have made the ultimate difference.Mercedes was one of several teams to exploit the active aero ban, introduced on safety grounds, for the Monte Carlo street circuit.With the normal rear wing activation devices not needed, teams had jumped on a legality box allowance to fit some complex mini wings.Team sources have suggested that the predicted gains from the Mercedes design was in the region of 0.045 to 0.05 seco …