The exact cause of the failure that ruined Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s British Grand Prix remains unclear. While Mercedes has confirmed that the issue involved the wheel shield on the front-left brake duct, team principal Toto Wolff says the damaged component must now undergo a full investigation at the factory before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.
The video of Antonelli’s incident
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was charging towards race leader Charles Leclerc until the wheel shield mounted on the front-left wheel—a relatively inexpensive component of the brake duct assembly—failed, transforming his pursuit of victory into a desperate fight for survival as he attempted, unsuccessfully, to salvage at least a handful of championship points.
A video published on Formula 1’s official social media channels on Sunday evening visually confirms what brought the championship leader’s race to an end. At the same time, the incident has reopened the title battle, with George Russell now 25 points behind the championship lead and Lewis Hamilton 32 points adrift.
The footage shows the carbon-fibre component suddenly coming loose from its housing after what did not even appear to be a particularly aggressive ride over the exit kerb at Copse Corner.
Toto Wolff wants answers
What actually caused the damage, however, remains unknown, as Toto Wolff explained during his post-race media session.
“We had a problem with the wheel shield, which broke. It looked like it was something related to the brake duct, but in any case a piece became lodged around the front-left corner, and that’s why Antonelli couldn’t turn the car. We’ve had a look at it, but it’s still not clear what actually happened.”
The Mercedes team principal added that the component will undergo what he described as an “autopsy” back at the factory to determine exactly why it failed and to ensure the same problem does not happen again, especially with several circuits on the calendar featuring kerbs similar to those at the exit of Copse.
“We’ll have to take the car back to the factory, remove that component and understand exactly what happened, why it happened, and why the consequences were so severe that the driver could no longer make the car turn. It’s a real shame because he would have caught Charles.”
Simone Resta explains the failure
Mercedes deputy technical director Simone Resta also avoided going into too much technical detail during the team’s post-race debrief organised with sponsor Akkodis.
“It was a failure of the front brake duct,” explained the former Ferrari, Sauber Alfa Romeo and Haas engineer. “More specifically, it involved the wheel shield component. With around 10 laps to go, the part failed and became loose, beginning to interfere with both the suspension and the steering. The car became almost impossible to drive, but Kimi showed tremendous determination because he wanted to stay out and score points.”
“Unfortunately, the car was extremely difficult to control and that’s why he ran off the track a couple of times, which ultimately earned him a five-second penalty. It’s a real shame that such a small component caused all of this, but it was also another clear demonstration of Antonelli’s resilience.”
The issue that ended Antonelli's chances 😖
A broken wheel shield 👀#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/is08EJRV7B
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026
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