Antonelli makes a mistake at the start (and not only): “What a shame about the start… Then I was too angry”

Watch out for the clutch release If the sprint qualifications on Friday evening once again certified the talent and speed of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the start of the 100 km race confirms the difficulties at the start which have been penalizing the performances of the young Italian driver since the beginning of the year. Starting (poorly) from second place on the grid, the 19-year-old skated with the rear wheels and even slipped to fifth place behind his teammate George Russell after turn 1, although he managed to regain fourth place in the following meters. A new mistake that risks becoming a coincidence and marking the rest of the season, especially considering how much Antonelli had worked on the simulator and in the factory to improve clutch release. Too many errors with track limits However, it is not just a question of starts, but also – inevitably – of reaction to difficulties: by his own admission, the Italian Mercedes driver was in fact too nervous due to the mistake at the start and this led him to make too many mistakes even in the 19 laps of the Sprint Race. The result? Four infringements of track limits which forced the FIA ​​Race Direction to inflict a five second penalty to be added to the final time of the race. And this is how Kimi Antonelli slipped from fourth to sixth place, “giving” two points to his teammate (and first “enemy” in the internal battle in the Mercedes garage), Russell. Kimi Antonelli’s comment “What happened at the start – explains Antonelli, interviewed by Mara Sangiorgio for Sky Sport F1 at the end of the Sprint Race of the Miami F1 GP – is a real shame, because in terms of procedures for once I had done everything right. So it was a shame to lose even more positions, because this compromised the race, once again. A shame, really. Then, after the start, I was very angry in the car and I made too many mistakes”. “Now I will focus on qualifying in order to do a better job and try to get the best possible result,” concluded Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-03 04:12:00