Antonelli explains the contact with Sainz that ruined his race in Austin
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli once again showed strong form at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, confirming his return to the performance level he had displayed earlier in the season. During Sunday’s race, he was closing in on George Russell in the opening stint when a collision with Carlos Sainz sent him to the back of the field, forcing him into a difficult recovery drive.
The incident between the two cars occurred as Carlos Sainz attempted a counter-attack on the Italian driver. The contact was triggered by a misjudgment from the Spaniard in the double left-hand corner, where he locked up his wheels trying to reclaim the position.
At first, it seemed that Antonelli had not noticed Carlos Sainz’s move. However, after the race, the young Mercedes driver revealed that he had actually seen Carlos Sainz’s approach and even managed to avoid an initial impact. What followed, however, was unavoidable once the Williams number 55 locked up its front tyres, leading to contact that ended Carlos Sainz’s race and heavily compromised Antonelli’s own.
“I think the situation was quite clear,” Kimi Antonelli explained after the race. “Carlos was very optimistic trying that move. It’s a shame to end up out of the race like that, but that’s how it went. The race was ruined by that contact, and from there everything became much more difficult.”
He added: “I saw Carlos coming. If you look at the footage, you can see I avoided the contact at the apex of the corner. I saw him coming from quite far away, but then I noticed he had locked up the wheels, and I hoped he wouldn’t hit me. In the end, though, he did.”
Vibrations and damage made Antonelli’s recovery impossible
Following the collision, Kimi Antonelli had to restart from the back of the pack in an attempt to recover positions. The impact caused by Carlos Sainz had, however, damaged the number 12 Mercedes W16, making his task even harder.
“After the impact, I felt a lot of vibrations in the car,” Kimi Antonelli revealed. “I also brushed the wall slightly with the rear wing. I don’t know if it was damaged, but I definitely felt strong vibrations. We need to check if the car was completely fine. It was tough — in clean air, my pace was good, but in dirty air, it was much more difficult.”
Despite the frustrating outcome, the Italian driver emphasized that his pace and performance had been encouraging throughout the weekend. “It’s a shame because the pace was good, and my position was also strong. I felt better on the Medium tyres compared to the Softs, because with the softer compound I suffered more degradation. But overall, I think my pace on the Mediums was really strong.”
Antonelli’s comments reflected both his frustration and determination after another race where potential points were lost due to circumstances beyond his control. The young Mercedes driver will now look ahead to the next round, hoping for a clean weekend and a chance to convert his promising speed into a solid points finish.
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