Kimi Antonelli keeps a lid on Brazilian GP anger amid Mercedes title success
Kimi Antonelli admitted he had to park the anger emanating from the spin that cost him a potential win in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to celebrate Mercedes’ title success.
A week after securing the Drivers’ crown in Mexico, Antonelli helped Mercedes seal the Constructors’ Championship at Interlagos, despite a disappointing run to fifth.
Kimi Antonelli ‘very angry’ after spin costs him Sao Paulo win
Having lined up on the front row alongside Norris, Antonelli snatched the lead when he made a better start and outdragged the McLaren driver on the short run to Turn 1.
With Liam Lawson also getting through to place a car between him and Norris, Antonelli was able to build an eight-second lead during the opening stages on a damp track.
But as conditions improved, the Italian’s margin over Norris was all but eroded when he made the switch from intermediates to slicks one lap later than his rival on Lap 17.
And three laps later, having voiced concern that his Mercedes was pulling to one side, Antonelli lost the car under braking into the first turn, gifting the race lead to Norris.
With damaged tyres, the Italian surrendered two more places to the Red Bull duo over the following laps, while more balance struggles when the rain returned in the latter stages prompted him to be given an order to allow teammate George Russell through.
“Yeah, I’m very disappointed for the race,” Antonelli expressed.
“I’m very angry, to be fair, but I’m going to put all this aside for now, because the team clinched the title. We clinched the title for the team, and they all deserve it. I’m very proud to be part of this group and this team who have done, and still do, so much for me. I’m very happy for them.
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“But talking about the race specifically, yeah, very disappointing because we were on for the win up to that point.
“Also, on the slick, once I was able to get some temperature, I was getting into the rhythm. But yeah, the spin came, which still is something I need to look at because I don’t know why I lost the rear so quickly as well, like no warning, nothing.
“But already, to be fair, when I put [on] the soft, I felt something weird with the car. So we need to check what happened. But on the other hand, yeah, shame because we lost the race there.”
Elaborating on the issues he encountered, Antonelli revealed that the problem was only prevalent in left-hand turns and was more prominent at a higher-speed range.
“We need to check something with the geometry of the car, of the rear, because I had this issue only in left corners. So especially at high speed was when I was feeling it the most,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“And the rear felt very unstable, even coming into the finish line in the left kink, the rear was very loose, which was weird.
“We need to check something in the car to see if anything happened. But it was a very odd feeling. And then when I spun, the tyres were gone; all four wheels flat-spotted. Only when then I put on the second set, we got back to [usual] pace. It was a shame.”
Read next: Brazilian GP conclusions: Hamilton talking his way out, Russell crying out, big Lawson dilemma
