Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s weekend got off to a rough start as the Italian Mercedes driver went off track just 15 minutes into the first free practice session. Fortunately, there was no damage to the car.
Immediate off-track excursion
The post-summer break return for Andrea Kimi Antonelli began in the worst possible way. Only 15 minutes into FP1 at Zandvoort, the Mercedes rookie, tasked with redeeming a rather underwhelming first half of the season, ended up stranded in the gravel at Turn 9.
Antonelli tried to get the car moving again, but the W16 was completely stuck, forcing the Italian to exit the cockpit. The only positive in this situation was avoiding contact with the barriers. The silver arrow #12 therefore suffered no damage to the bodywork.
Weather could complicate the weekend
Antonelli’s off-track excursion appeared to be a classic driving error, although it occurred in an unusual part of the circuit. Part of the responsibility could be attributed to track conditions, which were rather dirty due to sand brought onto the asphalt by the wind from the nearby beaches.
This mistake could prove ‘costly’ in terms of data collection, especially since the rest of the weekend faces the threat of bad weather expected to hit the Zandvoort area starting this afternoon.
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