Azerbaijan Grand Prix — F1 leader Antonelli says Baku race worst of his season
Kimi Antonelli, who was hobbled by contact with a Haas car, said he had driven a race of damage limitation in Baku and would look to bounce back in Malaysia. | Photo Credit: Darko Bandic
Kimi Antonelli, who was hobbled by contact with a Haas car, said he had driven a race of damage limitation in Baku and would look to bounce back in Malaysia. | Photo Credit: Darko Bandic
Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend the worst of his season after recovering to finish fifth in Saturday’s race following a costly qualifying crash that left him starting 16th on the grid.
A troubled weekend for Antonelli, that began with a hydraulics problem in Thursday practice, put a blot on an otherwise flawless season for the 20-year-old Italian.
It coincided with a dominant weekend for Mercedes teammate George Russell who took his third win of the season and narrowed the gap at the top of the standings from 81 to 66 points.
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“Obviously, it was the worst weekend by far of the season,” said Antonelli, winner of eight races this year, who went into the Azerbaijan weekend gunning for a third successive triumph.
“I felt always a step behind and especially with the mistake in qualifying, the confidence level was not high.”
Antonelli’s drive on Saturday could not have been more different than his 19th-to-first charge through the field in his home Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
His Baku comeback was instead more of a slow-burn recovery.
Antonelli, who was hobbled by contact with a Haas car, said he had driven a race of damage limitation.
He would bounce back next weekend in Malaysia, he added.
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“I think this weekend taught me a lot,” said Antonelli, who is on course to become the first Italian to win the Formula One title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
“I think in many occasions this weekend… I don’t know, probably also with the mindset, I was not in the best pace.
“I’ll just make sure that next weekend we get back at the right level.”
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