Latest news with #KimiAntonelli
CNA
3 days ago
- General
- CNA
Bortoleto clarifies comment about putting Antonelli in the wall
BARCELONA :Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto said a team radio clip of him apparently threatening to put Mercedes rival Kimi Antonelli "in the wall" at last Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix was edited and gave a false impression. The Brazilian was speaking to his race engineer after a first lap battle between the rookies ended with Bortoleto hitting the tyre wall at Portier, before the tunnel, as Antonelli went through on the inside. The stewards decided to take no further action over the incident. "Obviously, people take parts of something and they clip it and it's not like this," Bortoleto said at the Spanish Grand Prix on Thursday. "I spoke to Kimi after the race. We have, I believe, respect (for) each other since we were 10, 11 years old when we were racing in go-karts together. "People clipped it (the radio chat) but actually I asked my engineer "What happened, did he get a penalty for that?' and then he said 'No, no penalty for what happened there'. "So I was like 'OK, so basically if I do the same I put him in the wall and then it doesn't get (me) a penalty for that?'. But (they) took it in a way that it looks like I'm going to smash the guy in the wall. But we are not here to hurt anyone." Bortoleto has yet to score a point in eight races with Sauber while Italian Antonelli, 18, has made an impressive debut with Mercedes since taking the seat vacated by seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Bortoleto clarifies comment about putting Antonelli in the wall
BARCELONA, May 29 (Reuters) - Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto said a team radio clip of him apparently threatening to put Mercedes rival Kimi Antonelli "in the wall" at last Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix was edited and gave a false impression. The Brazilian was speaking to his race engineer after a first lap battle between the rookies ended with Bortoleto hitting the tyre wall at Portier, before the tunnel, as Antonelli went through on the inside. The stewards decided to take no further action over the incident. "Obviously, people take parts of something and they clip it and it's not like this," Bortoleto said at the Spanish Grand Prix on Thursday. "I spoke to Kimi after the race. We have, I believe, respect (for) each other since we were 10, 11 years old when we were racing in go-karts together. "People clipped it (the radio chat) but actually I asked my engineer "What happened, did he get a penalty for that?' and then he said 'No, no penalty for what happened there'. "So I was like 'OK, so basically if I do the same I put him in the wall and then it doesn't get (me) a penalty for that?'. But (they) took it in a way that it looks like I'm going to smash the guy in the wall. But we are not here to hurt anyone." Bortoleto has yet to score a point in eight races with Sauber while Italian Antonelli, 18, has made an impressive debut with Mercedes since taking the seat vacated by seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Toto Wolff knew Monaco GP blunder was coming - and his response speaks volumes
Kimi Antonelli became the latest in a long line of victims to the Monaco Grand Prix street circuit when he crashed his Mercedes while pushing during F1 qualifying On the face of things, the last couple of weeks have been a chastening experience for young Kimi Antonelli. After failing to manage his energy at Imola, resulting in a Q2 elimination in qualifying before a mechanical DNF in the race, he crashed while pushing too hard in Monaco. It was the sort of error many great drivers have made before him. The tight and twisty Monaco street circuit is not for the faint of heart and even the most minor of miscalculations can end in disaster, making it especially difficult for rookies who have never been around it in a Formula 1 car. Antonelli was one of those and found out how tough it is the hard way, clipping the inside barrier in the first part of the Nouvelle Chicane before burying the nose of his Mercedes into the wall. And that was the end of his qualifying, meaning he started Sunday's race 15th. Two such poor qualifying results on back-to-back race weekends would usually be a concern for a team like Mercedes. But though they have fast-tracked Antonelli into F1, they have made it clear that they will approach his development with plenty of patience now that he is there. They believe the young Italian can be the next big superstar of the sport if they help him to develop at the right rate. And team principal Toto Wolff made it clear he was expecting some difficult periods for the 18-year-old when speaking even before the season began. The Austrian said of his teenage starlet: "Kimi is going to learn, and sometimes we will tear our hair out, and other times, we will see moments of brilliance. But it is going to be a year of managing expectations for Kimi and preparing our driver line-up for 2026." Antonelli has already shown impressive maturity beyond his years in recent weeks, to match his undeniable talent. After the Imola race, he was the first to hold his hands up and admit he had got his approach to his first F1 home race all wrong and that he had failed to properly manage his energy. And he was open about his "unnecessary and costly" crash as he spoke after qualifying in Monaco too. "I'm gutted by how today's qualifying session went," he said. "We are always close to the limit in Monaco and the line between getting it right and getting it wrong is thin. That is particularly true come qualifying. "I tried to find those missing tenths but ultimately had an unnecessary and costly mistake. I turned slightly earlier than usual in turn 10 and clipped the barrier. I damaged the front, and I know there was nothing I could do from there and was a passenger into the barrier. I had enough pace to get through to the latter parts of qualifying, so it was a costly error." To make matters worse for Mercedes, George Russell suffered a loss of power in Q2 which saw him come to a stop on track and fail to set a time in that part of the session. That meant he would start 14th on the grid, just one place ahead of Antonelli with both several spots away from the points-paying positions.
Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Kimi Antonelli makes frank admission before Monaco GP – 'I need to learn'
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has admitted that he needs to 'learn to say no' from the Monaco Grand Prix onwards, after feeling overwhelmed by the support of his fans at Imola Mercedes' rising star Kimi Antonelli has candidly opened up about feeling the intense pressure from the fans at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, a stone's throw away from his birthplace in Bologna. The Formula 1 newcomer found himself amidst a whirlwind of attention in only his seventh outing in the sport. Speaking humbly, the youngster who was brought in to replace the departed Lewis Hamilton admitted he's still got to master the art of balancing fan interactions with personal space, especially as the fervent crowd may have contributed to his less-than-stellar performance and early exit from the race. Antonelli's car was retired in Italy thanks to a throttle issue, and now, with Monaco GP qualifying in the books, the Silver Arrows have all but thrown their chance of signincant points out the window with an abysmal starting grid spot of P14 for George Russell, and P15 for the youngster who has shed some light on the lessons he is learning in F1. "I need to learn sometimes to say 'no' and take a bit more time for myself," confessed the 18-year-old as he contemplated how last weekend unfolded. "I absolutely love the support of the fans. I just think on my side, I didn't manage the energy that well, and that compromised definitely the performance on track. "I could feel it. I was not as relaxed. I was a bit more tense while driving. So, ahead of the next home race [the Italian GP in September], it was a really good lesson." Antonelli had a tough time in Italy, starting 13th on the grid after a sub-par qualifying session and eventually retiring after struggling with overheating tyres. In contrast, his teammate George Russell had a stronger qualifying session, securing P3, but also faced overheating issues during the race, reports the Express. As a result, Russell was overtaken by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Hamilton, as well as Lando Norris and Alex Albon, ultimately finishing a lowly P7. Despite the challenges in Imola and now Monaco, Mercedes spokesperson Bradley Lord remains optimistic, believing that the team will learn from their experience and adapt for future races, including the summer visit to Monza. "For all of us, and for Kimi, the highest priority first and foremost is performance," Lord told Autosport. "We knew this would be a big weekend, and there's been a lot of attention. I think within the team, we've seen him as focused as ever and concentrated. "But, obviously, experiencing all of this for the first time, all the things you can control but also all the things you can't control, is a new phenomenon. "We've got to view it as a learning experience, understand what were the moments that lifted him and gave him energy, and which bits potentially felt like overload. "And then we'll adapt for both busy race weekends and particularly for the next home race in Italy in September as we go forward," concluded Lord.
Free Malaysia Today
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Free Malaysia Today
Sarcastic Hamilton tells Ferrari to take a tea-break
Lewis Hamilton has endured a tough debut season at Ferrari, struggling to keep pace with teammate Charles Leclerc for much of the campaign. (EPA Images pic) MIAMI : Lewis Hamilton turned on the sarcasm to show his frustration with Ferrari in radio exchanges during the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday. The seven times Formula One world champion told the Italian team to 'have a tea-break while you're at it' after the pit wall finally confirmed teammate Charles Leclerc would let him through. 'This is not good team work, that's all I'm going to say,' he had said earlier, complaining he was just 'burning up my tyres' in the dirty air behind the Monegasque. 'So you want me to just sit here (behind Leclerc) the whole race?' he said as the team informed him of the gap to Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli ahead of Leclerc without giving any instruction on passing. When the swap happened, Hamilton was unable to pull away at the rate expected and Leclerc then told the team he needed the Briton to go faster. The positions were reversed again, with Hamilton turning sarcastic again when his race engineer informed him that Williams' Carlos Sainz, the driver he replaced at Ferrari in January, was 1.4 seconds behind. 'You want me to let him past as well?,' said Hamilton pointedly. Hamilton held off Sainz to finish eighth, with Leclerc seventh, but the pair collided as the Spaniard tried to go past on the last lap. Stewards decided to take no further action after investigating. Asked about the exchanges after the race, Leclerc said he did not want to comment. 'It's obvious today was not the way we want to manage a race,' he added. 'We will discuss internally in order to make better decisions. There is no bad feelings for Lewis, absolutely not. It's just that as a team we need to do better.' Hamilton, third in the Saturday sprint and 12th on the grid for the main grand prix, said he really enjoyed the race despite Ferrari lacking a lot of pace. 'I lost a lot of time behind Charles and in that moment I was, like, come on just make a decision and don't waste time. Some people didn't like the comments. 'People say way worse things than I say. It was more sarcastic than anything. I'm not frustrated now. We'll work internally, have discussions and keep pushing.' Team boss Fred Vasseur said he could understand his drivers' frustrations. 'Lewis was behind Charles, he was with softer compounds and we let him go. Then we swapped back at the end. We gave Lewis a chance to go in front of Charles but it was impossible to overtake (Antonelli).'
