Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has revealed that Andrea Kimi Antonelli apologised to the team after the incident that put Charles Leclerc out of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
The Italian rookie and the Monegasque came together on Lap 53, the latter having just emerged from a pit stop.
Antonelli, sensing a chance to overtake Leclerc with his new tyres not yet up to temperature, made a bold and ambitious move on the inside of Turn 3.
As Leclerc took the usual racing line along the high-banked corner, Antonelli dived up the inside, and approaching the flatter exit, the Mercedes t-boned the Ferrari.
Leclerc was sent into the outside barrier, destroying the front of his car, and putting him out of the race.
Antonelli pitted for a new front right tyre, and was handed a 10-second penalty for the collision, as well as an additional five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Leclerc described the manoeuvre as “too aggressive”, and said it “was not a rookie mistake”.
After the race, Vasseur divulged that Antonelli arrived at the Ferrari motor home to offer his apologies to him and the team, and showed his appreciation at the gesture.
“He came to apologise to Charles,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “Charles was not there, but he came to me. And honestly I appreciate this, because this can happen.
“I think it’s not so easy to overtake in Zandvoort, it means that you have also to take risks. He took a risk. He made a mistake to come and to say, ‘Guys, sorry, my mistake.’
“I think it’s the good reaction. I think it’s also a race incident for me, that when you are in this situation, you know that you have one or two attempts maximum, and [he] went for it.”
Vasseur gives take on Leclerc-Russell move
It was not the only incident with a Mercedes that Leclerc was involved in during the race at Zandvoort.
On Lap 32, whilst battling with Antonelli’s team-mate George Russell, Leclerc divebombed the sister Mercedes down the inside of Turn 13, putting two wheels onto the gravel and barging through.
The incident was noted, but Leclerc escaped without penalty, with the stewards determining that he had not sufficiently left the track enough to warrant a penalty.
Vasseur’s take was that Russell had moved whilst braking during the overtake, and was also asked whether a penalty, had it been given, should be handed to a driver during or after a race.
“For sure that we always said that we prefer to have the penalty during the race,” he explained, “and for the podium, if you have to do something with the podium, it’s always better to have the decision during the race, but I think this one was not a clear cut.
“Also that George moved under the braking, I think he was expecting that Charles would go on the right-hand side and then on the left-hand side, and perhaps it was not a clear cut for the stewards, but let’s see what is the outcome.”
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