Rising Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli has his mechanics and rival Max Verstappen to thank after he qualified second for the Australian Grand Prix behind teammate George Russell.
Red Bull superstar Verstappen's crash early in qualifying caused a red flag, giving Mercedes' mechanics just enough time to fix Antonelli's car and send him out.
Their quick hands were required after the 19-year-old Italian clattered into the wall out of turn two in Saturday's final practice session, destroying the front and rear ends of his W17.
Mercedes initially had little more than two hours to repair the heavily damaged vehicle before Verstappen's crash gave them a crucial extra few minutes.
"It was a very intense day, but the mechanics were the heroes today," Antonelli said.
"A massive thanks to them, because they allowed me to be back on track.
"It was very intense, very nervous, very stressed into the session."
Verstappen blamed his crash on the rear axle locking, and while it sent the four-time world champion to the back of the grid, Antonelli benefited greatly.
"At one point it looked like we couldn't make it, but there was the red flag (and) it allowed us to buy a bit more time," he said.
"It was tricky. We couldn't even set up the car.
"We just went out of the garage and in the end we were still able to be on the front row, thanks to the mechanics of course."
Russell and Mercedes have entered the new season as favourites for the drivers' and constructors' championships respectively.
Saturday's qualifying session only added to the hype, after team principal Toto Wolff had attempted to play it down during the build-up.
Wolff had turned the spotlight on "very fast" rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, before Russell and Antonelli showed their hand in qualifying.
