Kimi Antonelli identifies cause of ‘very frustrating’ Azerbaijan qualifying crash

Kimi Antonelli has identified what he believes led to his Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying crash that brought an early end to his session and left him just 16th on the grid.

The championship leader tagged the wall at the apex of Turn 1 during the opening phase of the three-part qualifying hour, damaging the front-left wheel and forcing him to park his Mercedes.

Kimi Antonelli explains Azerbaijan GP qualifying crash after early qualifying exit

Antonelli was a non-starter in Qualifying 2 as a result of the impact which left him with damage to the front-left wheel.

Though he initially attempted to drag the wounded Mercedes back to pit lane, he was told by engineer Pete Bonnington to park the car given the extend of the damage.

Antonelli’s qualifying incident came after a slightly compromised build up to the session after losing track time during opening practice on Thursday with a hydraulics leak.

That had an impact on the second practice hour too, limiting the early preparation work the championship leader was able to complete.

“Yesterday, yes, I did miss a lot of laps, but in FP3 I felt pretty good,” Antonelli said following his qualifying exit.

“It was just a misjudgement, to be fair, with the grip changing so much.

“Yeah, unnecessary one in Q1, and it’s a very good reminder that these things don’t go my way, so I need to do a much better job.”

Complicating the task for drivers during qualifying were blustery conditions.

The Baku City circuit is hemmed in by buildings, creating pockets where conditions can change drastically.

With drivers balancing their cars on the very limit, it can be the decisive factor.

“I had a lot more headwind compared to the lap before, so the front was much stronger,” the Italian explained.

“I turned in roughly in the same spot, but obviously the car turned more and I clipped the wall.”

Kimi Antonelli vs George Russell

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates

F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates

With the front-left steering damaged, Antonelli initially tried to limp the car back to the pits in the hope it could be repaired.

However, from the pit wall, he was told it was too significant, and to instead park his Mercedes W17, ending his session in Q1.

“Was very frustrating,” he lamented.

“I tried my best to come in, but they told me that the damage was too big, so I had to bail out, which is even more annoying because obviously I think I was hoping they could repair it.

“Also, because that lap would have still be okay to get through,” he added.

“Unfortunately, it was not possible.”

Prior to the brush with the wall, Antonelli had recorded a lap that was good enough to escape Q1 elimination.

However, with his car stranded trackside with damaged suspension, he took no part in Q2 and was officially classified 16th having not set a time.

Meanwhile, teammate George Russell stormed to pole with a crushing lap, almost nine-tenths clear of the rest of the pack.

“Our car has been very strong, and George has been doing an incredible job this weekend,” Antonelli said of his Mercedes colleague.

“He has made the difference. We have to be honest with that, I have to be honest with that.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read Next: How Russell destroyed the competition in Azerbaijan GP qualifying