Jacques Villeneuve hits out at Kimi Antonelli for “very amateur move” on Charles Leclerc

Jacques Villeneuve has again hit out at Kimi Antonelli for his move on Charles Leclerc during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. The former world champion labelled the overtake attempt by the Mercedes driver an amateur move.

Antonelli, who was involved in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Leclerc on lap 53 of the Zandvoort race, subsequently crashed into the Scuderia Ferrari driver as he attempted his move on the banked turn three corner. The move by the young Italian driver, which led to the end of the race for the Monegasque, has continued to draw criticism, and Villeneuve has again weighed in on the overtake by the 19-year-old.

Sharing his thoughts as quoted by GrandPrix247, the 1997 world champion stated:

“On what planet did he think he was going to make the corner and not run into Leclerc? That’s why I said that’s not an F1 move, that’s not a racing driver move. That’s a very amateur move. Maybe if this were the first race of the season, but not halfway through it.”

The move by Kimi Antonelli largely translated to the end of his own race, as he was handed a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, which resulted in him dropping to P16 at the end of the race.

Kimi Antonelli has largely endured a difficult run of races since his podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix. The former Prema Racing driver has mustered only one points-scoring finish - the Hungarian Grand Prix - since the Montreal race.

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff defends Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has defended Kimi Antonelli amid the criticism he received following his crash with Charles Leclerc during the Dutch Grand Prix. The 53-year-old detailed how the team anticipated the young Italian to experience several such moments of mishaps when they tied him to a contract in 2024.

Wolff, who spoke to the media, also explained how Antonelli was in his year of learning and how he would still experience moments of brilliance. Speaking via Sky Sports, he said:

"When we made it clear last year in Monza that we would give him the opportunity, it was also saying that we would give him a year of learning, and there would be moments where we'd tear our hair out and there would be other moments of brilliance.

"I think this weekend pretty much sums that up. We want him to go for the moves.”

Kimi Antonelli’s incident in Zandvoort comes on the back of a flurry of incidents he has experienced so far in 2025. The Bologna native has also recorded four DNFs alongside multiple crashes through his debut campaign so far. Antonelli will, however, be aiming for a clean race when he takes to the circuit for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.