“Not ideal”: Kimi Antonelli speaks on Charles Leclerc incident in Dutch GP

F1 rookie Kimi Antonelli arrived in Monza ahead of his home race at the Italian GP. During the Thursday media day at Temple of Speed, the Mercedes driver was questioned about his crash with Charles Leclerc at last weekend's Dutch GP, as the Italian reflected on the same.

Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli ran P5 and P6 at the Dutch GP after Mercedes instructed George Russell to let the rookie by as the Briton had damage to the car and was bleeding pace to the Monegasque. On Lap 52, Mercedes instructed Antonelli to pit in an attempt to undercut Leclerc.

The Ferrari driver came into the pits on the very next lap to protect against the Mercedes undercut. As Leclerc exited the pits, he had Kimi Antonelli hot on his gearbox. The Italian, on tires which were already up to temperature, made a move into the banked corner of Turn 3.

The Italian went up the inside of Charles Leclerc, lost control of the car, ran wide, and hit the Ferrari driver on the corner exit. The Monegasque spun around from the contact and hit the barrier on the exit of Turn 3. Leclerc retired from the race as the front end broke after contact with the barrier.

As Kimi Antonelli arrived at Monza, he reflected on the crash from the Dutch GP and said,

“The contact [with Leclerc] happened. which was not ideal. In the moment I felt like going for it, as it felt like it was my only chance, which was a shame and is on me. It's nice to have a back to back race as I can carry this momentum in, after seeing the pace was better.”

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli talks about the incident with Charles Leclerc: "The contact [with Leclerc] happened. which was not ideal. In the moment I felt like going for it, as it felt like it was my only chance, which was a shame and is on me." 1/2

Although Kimi Antonelli was able to continue after the crash, he was given a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his super licence after the race, dropping him out of the points.

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“We want him to go for the moves”: Toto Wolff shares his verdict on Kimi Antonelli's crash with Charles Leclerc at the Dutch GP

Kimi Antonelli had a tough start to the Dutch GP weekend after being stuck in the gravel in FP1, missing out on crucial track time, and then being on the back foot for the rest of the weekend. The crash with Charles Leclerc was another low point for the Italian driver, who's had an up-and-down debut season.

Toto Wolff came out and reflected on Antonelli's season, and his crash with Charles Leclerc at the Dutch GP, as he said,

“He was involved in that accident that unfortunately meant the end for Charles’ race and also for Kimi’s race. But we want him to go for the moves, obviously. So, up and downs, and that was absolutely expected from this season. And every one of those days is going to be a learning for next year.” (via F1)

Antonelli also crashed with Max Verstappen on the opening lap at the Dutch GP, which ended both drivers' race.