Kimi Antonelli has voiced his desolation at retiring from the Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in the closing stages of the race.
Antonelli had been engaged in an intense battle with his teammate, duelling with George Russell for the entire race in Barcelona.
Although victory was no longer possible, as Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari streaked clear, Antonelli targeted finishing second to extend the lead over his teammate in the title race.
Instead, disaster struck in the closing stages, as the young Italian’s Mercedes ground to a halt, denting his substantial lead in the standings.
After the race, Antonelli cut a dismayed figure at the result.
“I feel a bit empty to be fair right now, but it is what it is,” said Antonelli. “Races are like this and it comes and goes.
“For sure the pace was good today. I struggled a little bit in stint one but stint two and three,
“I felt like I had quite a lot of pace and of course it’s a shame because it was like three laps from the end, almost there. But as I said, races are like this, it’s no one’s fault and now we look forward to the next one.”
Kimi Antonelli reflects on lost points
Antonelli revealed although happy for Hamilton, he feels he could have won the race if his second stint had played out differently.
“First of all, I’m very happy for Lewis because he’s been chasing that first win with Ferrari for so long and I’m really happy for him to see him succeed in that,” said Antonelli, who sits 41 points ahead of Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings.
“I think if I could have made a move in stint two on George, [it] would have been a bit of a different race because, as I said, the pace was very good especially at the end of the stint.
“I feel like it maybe would have been very close with Lewis with the VSC, so maybe we could have fought but it is what it is.
“I think also my side, yesterday I didn’t do a good job so definitely now a week of rest and then ready for Austria to come back stronger and be back at the best form.”
Barcelona saw Antonelli’s run of form come to an abrupt end. How he bounces back from this in Austria will be crucial in his battle to regain momentum.
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