Kimi Antonelli crashed out in his first Monaco Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. The Mercedes driver was on course to reach Q2 before he hit the barriers.
Antonelli made the familiar error of clipping the inside wall at the Nouvelle Chicane on his final lap. That set him on a path to the exit barriers.
It was a disastrous day for Mercedes overall as teammate George Russell pulled over early in Q2. Russell lost power and came to a standstill in the tunnel, setting up a P14 and P15 start.
Antonelli’s triple-header is descending into a nightmare after his wretched home race. He qualified 13th at Imola and suffered his first DNF of the season in the race.
Ordinarily, it would be weekend over for the Silver Arrows at this point. But the mandatory two-stop rule could inject some strategic chaos into this year’s race.
Mercedes figures seen shaking their heads after Kimi Antonelli’s Monaco Grand Prix shunt
Reporting from the pit lane on BBC Radio 5 Live, Rosanna Tennant noted ‘shakes of heads in the Mercedes garage after Antonelli crashed. But she did note that race engineer Peter Bonnington immediately checked on his welfare.
Bonnington, who used to work with Lewis Hamilton, told Antonelli not to ‘sweat it’. Mercedes are trying to delicately manage the 18-year-old, who’s the third youngest driver in F1 history, so one would expect more patience from the mechanics.
“It was interesting to see when Kimi Antonelli hit the barrier, there were shakes of heads in the Mercedes garage, but it was lovely to hear his race engineer checking he was OK,” Tennant said.
Drivers like Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen crashed in their early visits to the Monaco Grand Prix before going on to win the race in the future. It’s far from surprising to see an inexperienced driver make such a mistake.
Mercedes ambassador has told Kimi Antonelli what he still needs to learn from George Russell
Antonelli received a pep talk from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff before the race at Imola. Wolff stressed the importance of retaining focus amid the extra attention.
But speaking in a press conference in Monaco, Wolff said Antonelli was ‘toast’ as he struggled to cope. Mercedes will make an extra effort to shield him from publicity during future races in Italy.
Antonelli became the youngest pole-sitter in any F1 format when he set the pace in Miami Sprint qualifying. Since then, he’s reminded the paddock that he’s still raw.
According to team ambassador Esteban Gutierrez, Antonelli needs to learn from Russell. The multiple-race winner has set the perfect example with his ‘very thoughtful’ communication.
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