Carlos Sainz has urged Kimi Antonelli to “calm down” after the Mercedes driver called the Williams driver an “idiot” over the radio during a misunderstanding in the opening practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix. The incident occurred while Kimi Antonelli was on a fast lap at Spa-Francorchamps and encountered Carlos Sainz travelling slowly ahead.
Kimi Antonelli had to brake sharply to avoid a collision before passing Carlos Sainz. The Mercedes driver then voiced his frustration to the team on the radio, describing the Spanish driver as an “idiot”. Kimi Antonelli later recovered from the difficult FP1 moment to set the fastest time in FP2.
Carlos Sainz responds to Kimi Antonelli’s Spa FP1 radio message
The stewards did not penalise Carlos Sainz for the on-track misunderstanding, but the former Ferrari driver still felt that Kimi Antonelli’s language over the radio was unnecessary. Speaking to AS, Carlos Sainz made his position clear.
“Nothing happened. I think he thought I had impeded him, but I am not convinced. Maybe he thought I should have moved out of the way better, but I do not think he should have called me an idiot on the radio. I think it is forbidden to insult another competitor, so he should calm down a bit.”
The exchange came at the start of an important Spa weekend for Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes. The Italian driver ended FP2 fastest after the team made major progress between the two sessions, following its significant aerodynamic update for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Second stewards warning adds to difficult Friday for Carlos Sainz
The incident with Kimi Antonelli was not Carlos Sainz’s only issue on Friday. The Williams driver also received a warning from the stewards after crossing the pit-lane entry line, then remaining on track after initially committing to the pit entry.
Carlos Sainz accepted responsibility for the situation, explaining that the team had told him to stay out too late and that he had followed the instruction. “It was a mistake by the team to tell me to stay on track so late and by me to listen to them,” Carlos Sainz said. “Maybe I should have gone directly into the pits.”
He added that the lap was important for charging the battery before a planned run on soft tyres. “We were practising and that lap was important to charge the battery for the soft tyres. I chose the easier route, but yes, it is understandable.”
The difficult Friday continues a challenging period for Williams, despite Carlos Sainz having previously said that the team’s upgrades were working while revealing an alarming gap to Racing Bulls. Attention will now turn to whether Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli can put the FP1 tension behind them as the Belgian Grand Prix weekend moves towards qualifying.
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