No hard feelings: Kimi Antonelli explains the China Sprint collision and Isack Hadjar’s reaction. After his first F1 victory, Andrea Kimi Antonelli clarified the incident with Isack Hadjar.

F1 | Antonelli clarifies incident with Hadjar: “It was normal he was angry after the Sprint”

No hard feelings

After the Sprint race of the Chinese Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli went to Parc Ferme to apologize to Isack Hadjar for the incident in Turn 6 during the first lap. The Mercedes driver made a braking mistake, colliding with and significantly damaging the Red Bull of the French driver.

Antonelli was handed a ten-second penalty, and aware of being responsible for the incident, he tried to explain himself to Isack Hadjar. However, immediately after the race, the Red Bull driver did not accept Kimi Antonelli’s apology, saying to the media that he did not understand why Antonelli is so “overexcited considering he has a rocket.”

After his Grand Prix victory, in the press conference, Antonelli clarified that everything with Isack Hadjar has been resolved. “I went to apologize again during the drivers’ parade, and we cleared things up,” Antonelli said. “In the Sprint race, it was definitely my mistake because I made contact with him—obviously not on purpose—and I affected his race. So, I took responsibility and after the race I went to apologize. He was caught up in the heat of the moment. We know how Isack can be sometimes, especially when he’s in the middle of the action, so I wasn’t too worried, and in fact the next day everything was already fine.”

The resolution of this conflict allowed the Italian driver to focus entirely on his charge to the top step of the podium in the Chinese Grand Prix. As the grid prepares to depart Shanghai for Japan, the focus shifts away from the Saturday stewards’ room and back toward the incredible performance of the Silver Arrows. For Isack Hadjar, the apology marks the end of a frustrating weekend as he looks to rebound at the next round in Suzuka.