World championship leader Kimi Antonelli said he was "very mad" about making an "unnecessary" qualifying error that left him starting the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from 16th on the grid. The 91-point lead established by Antonelli at the top of the standings with nine races remaining has put him in a position where merely solid results will see the Italian to a maiden title. For that reason, along with the imperious form he has shown throughout the season so far, it came as a major surprise when Antonelli clipped the wall at the first corner during Q1 in Baku, especially given Mercedes were showing strong pace that should have enabled him to cruise through to Q3 at a canter.
The Silver Arrows' strength at the circuit was evidenced in Antonelli's team-mate - and nearest title challenger - George Russell beating Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to pole by more than eight tenths of a second. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Asked whether he had been caught out by there being more grip than he expected at the first corner, Antonelli told Sky Sports F1: "Yeah, for sure. The grip was coming up very quickly lap by lap.
"Suddenly I turned in and had a lot more front end compared to the lap before and I touched the wall. "So, mistake from my side. To be fair, I'm very mad about it and will try to do better tomorrow." Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve described the incident as "an incredible mistake".
"It's not an inch, it's a lot," Sky Sports F1's Villeneuve said. "An incredible mistake and he does it on a weekend where his team-mate is in a league of his own. "Not the best of time for that, but with the current rules they facilitate getting back through the field." Three-time W series champion Jamie Chadwick said the crash reminded her of "Kimi of old", a reference to the 20-year-old's inconsistent debut campaign in F1, which raised major doubts over whether he could live up to his billing as a generational talent.
Sky Sports F1's Chadwick said: "I say it's uncharacteristic, it's kind of the way we see Kimi drive a lot of the time is that there's one gear. "Last year we saw that come with mistakes and crashes, this year we have not really seen that of him. It has felt a bit like Kimi of old in a way and it was like that one gear and he just didn't really need to do it.
"That said, it is easy to make mistakes like that, we know that at a track like this. But you are in a Mercedes that was clearly in a league of his own at this track, first lap of Q1, you didn't need to take that much risk. "It just caught him out, the grip that he clearly had at Turn One.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
