Formula 1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli has shed light on the qualifying mistake that cost him a shot at a front-row start at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The Italian teenager aborted his flying lap in the latter stages of Q3, due to yellow flags across the circuit, triggered by a crash from Max Verstappen. Antonelli misinterpreted the marshal’s yellow flags as double-waved yellows. Resulting in the Mercedes driver backing off the lap to avoid what he thought was a punishable offence.
However, when his team-mate George Russell went to the top of the timing sheets under yellow-flag conditions, Antonelli was confused. Race engineer Bono confirmed that it was, in fact, single-waved yellows.
Following the session, Antonelli discussed the miscommunication that resulted in his fourth-place start in Austria.
“Yeah, I mean, I saw double yellow even, so it probably was my mistake, “Antonelli said.
“But yeah, I aborted the lap and that was it, so my mistake.”
“I heard yellow yellow, but the thing is, I was looking at the marshal and probably, I don’t know, I saw wrong, and I just saw two flags instead of one and I aborted.”
The Mercedes driver also explained that it was difficult to see what was being shown on the boards around the circuit.
“It was hard to see because there was the sun in the face and I just, I looked at the marshal because I think the panel went yellow.
“But of course you don’t know if it’s a single or double, so I looked at the marshal, and it was hard to see, and I just saw double yellow instead of one, and I just aborted completely.
Should it have been double waved yellows?
Antonelli was concerned about how race control handled the incident as a whole. The Italian believed the circumstances could have justified double-waved yellow flags. Especially due to the nature of the corner.
“Yeah, I mean for sure, there was a car in the wall in a fast corner,” Antonelli explained
“So I think in this situation I don’t know why they didn’t go double yellow straight away because it’s a super quick corner and if you go off at the same time you can end up very badly.
That was a bit confusing, but it’s what it is.”
Although the confusion ultimately cost him the chance to complete his final qualifying run, Antonelli maintains he was off the pace of his team-mate Russell.
“Yeah, I was one tenth behind him, so it would have been front row, but still not enough for pole.”
Instead, Antonelli will line up fourth on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix, aiming to secure a crucial points haul for the championship standings.
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