Kimi Antonelli responds to Gabriel Bortoleto criticism after watching back Monaco Grand Prix incident

Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes suffered a miserable weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix. It is the second race in a row where the Italian has scored no points.

It has been a difficult time for the 18-year-old during the European triple header. Antonelli suffered his first retirement in F1 at his first home Grand Prix at Imola.

Antonelli’s ‘flawless’ image ‘suffered’ at Imola as he failed to reach Q3 and struggled to make up ground in the race. A mechanical issue eventually forced the Mercedes driver to retire.

The Silver Arrows were hoping for a better weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix, but it was a huge disaster for the team. Antonelli crashed in Q1 after clipping the wall at the Nouvelle chicane, while teammate George Russell was also knocked out in Q2.

With the mandatory two-pit stop directive, Mercedes’ strategy was ineffective as Russell missed out on points in 11th, while Antonelli languished in 18th. The Italian was not helped by an incident on the first lap with Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto.

Kimi Antonelli insists he didn’t touch Gabriel Bortoleto in ‘aggressive’ move at Monaco

Starting behind Antonelli in 16th, Bortoleto pulled off an audacious move on the Italian into the hairpin. The Mercedes driver came back at the Sauber through Portier, only for the Brazilian to end up in the barriers.

Bortoleto reversed out of the wall and continued, avoiding a stoppage. Finishing the race in 14th, the F2 champion accused Antonelli of pushing him into the barrier over the radio, later stating that the Italian made the move because he was ’embarrassed’ about being overtaken in Monaco.

But while he accepted it was an ‘aggressive’ move, Antonelli told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com that he made no contact with Bortoleto as he responded to the criticism.

“I think it was an aggressive move, but in the end I didn’t touch him. Also, at the apex of the corner I was in front of him. Obviously I never wanted to see him end up against the wall,” he said.

“My intention was not to send him into the wall, but in the end I didn’t touch him and I did my best to give him as much space as I could in that moment. Obviously Monaco is a very narrow track and it can happen.

“I didn’t want to lose the position on Bortoleto because the goal was to stay close to Russell, especially for our strategy. So I tried to immediately give back the overtaking. I don’t think there was anything exceptional.

“I looked at the video from the car camera and I didn’t touch Gabriel. So there was nothing exceptional or dirty, from that point of view. Of course it was an aggressive move but I just wanted to pass him. Also it wasn’t like in Miami, when I was touched. Here I didn’t touch anyone.”

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With back-to-back pointless finishes, Mercedes will want to see an improvement in form from Antonelli. Ferrari and Red Bull have made significant gains in the constructors’ championship after their misery in Monaco.

The reality of F1 has hit the Italian in recent weeks, with the high-pressure situations getting to him, particularly at his home race at Imola. Antonelli says he needs more time for himself at his next home event at Monza, after suffering numerous distractions.

Jacques Villeneuve heard Mercedes were ‘not super happy’ with Antonelli at Imola after he brought his school friends to the circuit, which caused him to lose focus.

Antonelli recently had a pep talk with Toto Wolff about where to improve. After a woeful weekend in Monaco, the 18-year-old will want to get further up the field in Barcelona this weekend.