26/07/2025 09:50
Kimi Antonelli was at a loss to explain his "weird" spin during
sprint qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver
was eliminated during SQ1 at Spa-Francorchamps after his incident
at Stavelot left his tyres flat-spotted. With drivers permitted to
use only one set of tyres during each sprint qualifying section,
the 18-year-old was consigned to his fate following his 360-degree
spin. He will start the one-third distance race from P20 and last.
Reflecting on the hair-raising moment, Antonelli explained how he
was on a "pretty decent lap" until that point, estimating it would
have been enough to put him inside the top five. "I don't know, it
was actually a pretty decent lap," the young Italian said. "I was
around P4, and yeah, it just was weird, because I lost it
completely on exit. Unable to explain the cause of the pirouette,
the one-time podium finisher suggested it could have been wind that
destabilised his W16. "Just need to check, maybe a gust of wind,"
Antonelli added. "But it was quite weird the way I lost the car."
The F1 rookie has endured a difficult spell following a strong
start to life alongside George Russell at the Brackley-based team.
Having scored points in five of the opening six grands prix of the
season, his campaign has taken a downward turn. Aside from his
impressive trip to the rostrum in Montreal, Antonelli has not
scored a single point over the past six rounds, although two of his
four retirements in that span have been due to reliability issues.
In need of a better weekend, it was a disappointing start to the
round in Belgium. Nonetheless, the teenager maintains he is
"definitely confident" about the sprint, insisting the car is in a
good place. "Yeah, I mean the car felt good over the lap, so
definitely confident for tomorrow," he explained. "And, yeah, we'll
just try to reset and look forward to tomorrow."
