Kimi Antonelli left the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix frustrated after retiring from the race while he was in second place. The result cost the Italian driver important points, who believes he had missed an opportunity to contend for victory.
The retirement occurred due to a car problem, something the championship leader acknowledged as an area the team needs to improve. Despite the disappointment, he highlighted that the current technical cycle is still in a learning phase for all teams.
“It is very disappointing to retire when you are in P2, but these things can happen in motorsport,” Antonelli said. The driver recalled that George Russell had faced a similar issue previously and stressed that the reliability of the German team needs to evolve.
“We know that reliability is something we need to work on and I am sure the team will push hard to improve it. It’s more points that we’ve dropped, but we must remember that this is the first year of this new regulation and we are all learning quickly,” he said.
Besides commenting on his own result, Antonelli made a point of praising Lewis Hamilton for the victory achieved in Barcelona. The young driver highlighted the importance of the seven-time champion in his career and celebrated the British driver’s success.
“Congratulations to Lewis on today’s victory. He is a great driver and has helped me a lot in my career so far. I’m happy to see him back on top, because he really deserves it,” he added.
Antonelli also believes he had the pace to contend for the win in the Spanish race. According to him, the entry of the Virtual Safety Car at an unfavorable moment altered the race’s dynamics and prevented a direct comparison with Hamilton’s pace.
“I think we had the pace to challenge Lewis for the victory, but the Virtual Safety Car appeared at a bad moment for us and we couldn’t see how the situation would have unfolded. Now we’ll need to raise our level if we want to return to fighting for wins. We’ll learn from this weekend and come back stronger,” concluded the Mercedes’ young driver.
