Charles Leclerc’s instant regret at ‘harsh’ Kimi Antonelli radio message
Charles Leclerc has reacted to his heated radio message in the Miami GP Sprint.
Charles Leclerc admitted his radio message aimed at Kimi Antonelli in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint was “a bit too harsh”.
Leclerc and Antonelli went into combat in the early stages of the 19-lap Sprint, but while the Ferrari driver admitted things got “a little bit too close for comfort”, his team radio went a bit far this time.
Charles Leclerc admits Kimi Antonelli radio message ‘a bit harsh’
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Antonelli had started on the front row, but quickly found himself down several places after a slow start off the grid, with Leclerc one of the drivers to capitalise.
Leclerc was not best pleased with the teenager’s defence in the moment, reacting to race engineer Bryan Bozzi: “Kimi is… so bad on wheel-to-wheel. He moved under braking, it’s unbelievable. We’re going to crash.”
The Ferrari driver eventually crossed the line third and, while Antonelli finished fourth on the road, a late five-second penalty for excessive track limits breaches dropped him down to sixth.
With the dust having settled somewhat, when asked by PlanetF1.com about whether his comments came in the heat of the moment or whether Leclerc saw combat as a weakness in Antonelli’s arsenal, he was quick to retract the overall sentiment – adding how well he gets on with the Mercedes driver.
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“No, I was being a bit harsh, maybe, with the adrenaline inside the car,” he said.
“It’s true that we’ve had our moments with Kimi in the past, and I hope this calms down a little bit going ahead, especially he’s the only Italian driver on the grid against Ferrari.
“I wish it was with someone else, and I really like Kimi also as a person. So, no, it’s just sometimes a little bit too close for comfort and not really needed as well.
“So in this particular case, I was quite angry in the car, but the comments were probably a bit too harsh.”
Antonelli still holds a seven-point lead in the Drivers’ standings after Saturday’s Sprint action, with Leclerc sat third on 55 points.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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