Antonelli explains crash with Verstappen at F1 Austrian GP

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has addressed his opening lap crash with Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix. 

The Mercedes driver locked his rear brakes at Turn 3 and collided into the side of the four-time Formula 1 world champion causing both to retire as a result. 

The 18-year-old rookie confirmed that it wasn’t late braking, but rather locking up the rears that caused Antonelli to lose control.

“I didn’t necessarily brake too late, it’s just that when I braked, I braked hard because I was behind other cars, and in that moment I locked the rears,” Antonelli told Sky Sports. “Then I just couldn’t stop the car.

“I locked the rear and then lost the car, and then had to avoid Lawson. Then it was too late because I was arriving just too quick. I started to lock the front and instead of decelerating, I was accelerating. The car was just taking speed and the crash was inevitable.”

Taking responsibility for the crash with Verstappen, Antonelli issued an apology to the Mercedes team and the Red Bull driver.

Antonelli acknowledged that the incident could result in a penalty which would carry over to the British Grand Prix next week.

“Just feel super sorry to the team, and to Max of course, because obviously he was just a passenger,” added Antonelli.

“Of course, it’s a big mistake. Now we need to move forward and focus on Silverstone. We’ll see if we get a penalty or not, but it’s going to be important to get back and start doing like I did in Canada.”

This came after Antonelli claimed his maiden podium in Canada last time out, with third behind Verstappen and his team-mate George Russell, who won.

However, despite the optimism from the strong 1-3 for the Brackley outfit in Montreal, team boss Toto Wolff was keen to temper expectations ahead of Austria.

“Building on the momentum from Canada is therefore our focus,” Wolff explained. “The track in Spielberg will be a good test of our recent updates and provide another reference point for our progress.

“There is still a long way to go this season. We will look to maximise our points scoring and hopefully be able to challenge for the podium once again.”