Kimi Antonelli explains ‘mindset’ decision behind staying in British GP
Antonelli watched his chance of a win disappear in front of him.
Kimi Antonelli said he wanted to show he has the right “mindset” as he persisted with a flattering car during the British Grand Prix.
Antonelli had looked on course for another win when he suddenly reported issues with his car during lap 41.
Kimi Antonelli reacts to Silverstone issues
The Italian dived into the pits but Mercedes was unable to fully rectify the problem with Toto Wolff later suggesting something had got stuck inside Antonelli’s front left.
The mechanics pulled off his wheel shield but still struggled to keep his car between the white lines, prompting race engineer Peter Bonnington to suggest pitting to retire.
Antonelli, who was still running in the points at the time, pushed through and said he wanted to demonstrate the right “mindset”.
“I just showed that I have the mindset that I try every time I go on track,” he told media including PlanetF1.com at Silverstone. “I do my best, that I try to give everything, and that even you know today, despite things that were already going against us, I saw there was the possibility to get one point, and I was just trying my best to achieve that.
“I was going to achieve that, but then the safety car came, and just didn’t really have the possibility to even try for that.”
Antonelli’s quest for that point was disrupted by a five-second penalty for leaving the track as he wrestled to keep control.
He went wide at Turn 6 on lap 44 which was his fourth track limits infringement and thus a five-second penalty was applied.
The stewards did not deem that a mechanical issue was a “justifiable reason” for leaving the track and while Antonelli complained about the decision at the time, he later accepted “these are the rules.”
“I mean, these are the rules, so I cannot do anything about it,” he said. “But of course, I was trying my best to stay on track, but it was really undrivable.
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“Of course, to get a penalty for that, it hurts, but these are the rules, and nothing I can do about it.”
After five wins in a row, Antonelli’s momentum has been disrupted with first a DNF in Barcelona and now just eight points from the Silverstone weekend.
The 19-year-old did though take comfort from the speed he showed all weekend.
“We lost a lot of points, but the momentum is there,” he said. “Because I think this weekend we showed the speed, and we showed as well, what the potential can be when I’m in a good place.
“When also we’re in a good place with the team with the car, we showed what we are capable of, so I think that the momentum is still there.
“But actually it makes the fire grow even more. To go out there in Spa and try to do even better.”
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