Mercedes confirms cause of Kimi Antonelli scare in Singapore GP

SINGAPORE – Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that the scare Kimi Antonelli encountered during the Singapore GP was related to a heat-soaked brake.

Antonelli took another step towards clinching a maiden Formula 1 Drivers’ title as he extended his lead over team-mate George Russell to 102 points with third in Singapore.

Mercedes reveals extent of Kimi Antonelli issues in Singapore GP

However, the Italian’s route to the podium wasn’t plain sailing. Even prior to lights out, a brake sensor issue on Antonelli’s car necessitated work to his W17 on the grid.

Following a second pit stop during a Virtual Safety Car period on Lap 40, while running fifth, Antonelli reported he “had not brakes,” and that he’d run long at Turn 7 – an incident caught on timing screens as a track limits warning.

Peter Bonnington, Antonelli’s race engineer, replied that the problem with his brake pedal “looked like heat soak”, which Wolff corroborated when questioned post-race.

Earlier in the race, he’d complained about a leakage inside his cockpit.

“The liquid, we don’t know [the reason],” Wolff admitted to PlanetF1.com and other accredited media.

“We suspect it was the drink bottle that went there, or he had a leak. But he should have known that if it was the case.

“And the other thing is that he had a heat soak in the brakes.

“I think it was after the stop, and that is why the brake went long, and then recovered immediately after when he got more air cooling it again.”

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Antonelli believes the sensor issue that was present from the reconnaissance lap, combined with running close behind Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari throughout the opening stages, contributed to the difficulties that he experienced with his brakes.

When asked how he resolved the issue, Antonelli replied: “Well, just trying to lift and coast before every braking and to arrive a bit slower and put less pressure on the pedal, because especially on the restart of the VSC, when I went to brake, nothing happened. I had really poor stopping, brake power and I almost went into the wall.

“So, it was just very tricky out there, and also the pedal was very long. But it was also kind of expected.

“I’ve run three-quarters of the race behind a car in dirty air and obviously being so hot. Plus, we also had the sensor issue on the brakes, so we didn’t even have the data about the brakes.

“We didn’t know exactly what temperature they were running, so it was all about feeling. But they were hot because I could even smell it, so it was not very pleasant.

Antonelli capitalised on Lando Norris running deep in Turn 1 as the McLaren driver sought to pass Hamilton to move up to fourth, before utilising the newer rubber at his disposal to overtake the struggling Ferrari to claim his 14th podium of the season.

“It was a very tough race out there, but really happy with the podium at the end,” Antonelli, who can wrap up the championship next time out in Austin, added.

“I managed to take advantage of the fight of Lando and Lewis and to make the move on both, and to bring home P3 is a great result for the team. Very happy with that.”

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