Antonelli takes it all in, Wolff jokes over the radio: “Did it make you happy to do the fastest lap at the end?”

Insatiable Kimi Andrea Kimi Antonelli still lacked victory in a Sprint race in Formula 1 and now this box has also been ticked. The Italian chose the ‘den’ of his two main rivals in the title race – teammate George Russell and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton – to ‘unlock’ this result, becoming the protagonist of a perfect Sprint. In the first laps the Italian from Mercedes made Hamilton let off steam, then after a good duel he passed him on the straight and never looked back, crossing the finish line with a margin of almost three seconds. The curtain call with Wolff At the end of the race the world championship leader was complimented via radio by his track engineer Peter Bonnington but also by the entire Mercedes ‘general staff’, including team principal Toto Wolff. The Austrian manager himself was the protagonist of a funny exchange with his driver. In fact, Antonelli, as a true and insatiable champion, took the liberty of recording the best lap of the Sprint in the last lap, when his victory was now in the safe. His time of 1:31.607 was three tenths faster than that of teammate Russell, the only other driver to dip under 1:32 in the final lap and who was also motivated by the attempt – then failed – to catch up with Lando Norris to at least recover third position. Wolff, joking about this unnecessary risk that Antonelli took at the end of the race, told him: “Kimi, well done! Did it make you happy to set the fastest lap on the last lap?”. Kimi’s response was seraphic: “Yes, it made me happier.”

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-07-04 11:56:00