Kimi Antonelli failed to score in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint despite starting on pole position. His race unravelled in two separate incidents.
The youngest polesitter in any F1 format after a sensational qualifying lap, Antonelli lost out to Oscar Piastri in a wet start. He ran off the track as he tried to hold the lead around the outside.
The Italian complained over the radio that the McLaren had pushed him off. The stewards noted the incident but decided not to investigate further.
Antonelli dropped to fourth and came under pressure from Mercedes teammate George Russell. After torrential rain before the race, the track dried quickly in the Florida heat.
The 18-year-old followed the rest of the pack into the pits, but he was hit by world champion Max Verstappen after Red Bull released him from the pit box. Verstappen picked up an inarguable 10-second penalty.
Martin Brundle says Kimi Antonelli may have saved Mercedes mechanics in Max Verstappen incident
Verstappen’s sanction was little consolation for Antonelli, who wasn’t even able to change his tyres after taking avoiding action. He had to circulate for another lap on burnt-out intermediate tyres, having already lost time in the pit lane.
Antonelli eventually finished 10th, two places shy of the points. Speaking on the radio immediately after Verstappen hit him, he said ‘f— me, man’.
However, Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle assured him that he’d saved his mechanics from a potential injury by sacrificing his own race.
“Young man, you did a brilliant job to avoid that, because that would have spun him into a load of mechanics,” Brundle said.
His colleague, Anthony Davidson, examined the onboard footage afterwards and concurred. Davidson, a simulator driver for Mercedes, ‘dreads to think’ what would have happened if Antonelli hadn’t reacted in time.
“You look at the reaction from Antonelli’s steering wheel,” he said. “He sees him and gets out of it, even though he wants to be coming into his own pit box to get rid of these awful, battered old intermediates. He’s desperate to go on the slicks, but he can’t because he’s got a Red Bull in his way.
“Although there’s contact, you have to say, hats off to Kimi for protecting, in that moment of avoidance, these guys here. They were so vulnerable. I dread to think what could have happened with these big, heavy cars at 60kph. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
“Thanks to his quick reactions and avoidance, everybody can learn from it, but walk away from it. Yes, there was a bit of damage on the car from Verstappen. That’s a small thing to deal with [compared to] what could have been.”
Damon Hill’s ‘tragic’ verdict on Kimi Antonelli’s start in Miami Grand Prix Sprint
Whatever happens from here, this is a landmark weekend in Antonelli’s career. Sebastian Vettel spent 17 years as the youngest driver to start on pole (21 years, two months and 11 days at the 2008 Italian GP), but Antonelli obliterated that record.
The entire F1 paddock was in awe of his achievement. Mercedes predecessor Lewis Hamilton called Antonelli’s lap ‘amazing’.
Still, there’s potential for this to be a learning experience. He was arguably a little naive in demanding a penalty for Piastri in light of the current racing guidelines.
Damon Hill called Antonelli’s start ‘tragic’ as his dream of a first win crumbled. He says this is the ‘inevitable’ result when the front two go side-by-side into the first corner.
