Max Verstappen described being eliminated from the Austrian Grand Prix by Kimi Antonelli as “unlucky,” adding that he hopes this incident means he will no longer be seen as a contender for the championship title this season.
Verstappen`s race at Red Bull`s home track on Sunday ended prematurely when Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli collided with his car at Turn 3 during the first lap. As a result of this collision, Antonelli received a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming British Grand Prix.
Heading into the race 43 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri, Verstappen`s early exit severely damaged his already slim prospects of defending his title this year. With Piastri securing second place, the points difference between them increased to 61.
Verstappen commented, “It`s just bad luck, similar to qualifying yesterday.” He added, “Overall, our pace wasn`t strong this weekend anyway, so there`s much for us to learn to hopefully perform better next weekend. Naturally, today`s outcome isn`t ideal.”
“These things happen,” he acknowledged, stating, “I mean, every driver has made a mistake like that at some point.”
“Everyone makes mistakes like that during their careers,” he continued. “Kimi is a very talented driver. He wants to win, and that`s perfectly fine. Nobody causes these incidents intentionally.”
Regarding the impact of the result on his championship hopes, Verstappen remarked, “Hopefully now people will stop talking about it so much.”
“I`m out, I was hit,” Verstappen exclaimed over the team radio, expressing frustration about the incident.
Antonelli was attempting to overtake Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto for sixth position when he locked his brakes and moved aggressively towards the inside of the turn.
Unable to reduce his speed sufficiently, the Mercedes rookie went beyond the corner`s apex and collided with Verstappen.
Both cars came to a stop in the Turn 3 run-off area, resulting in both drivers retiring from the race.
“Sorry about that. I locked the rear, sorry,” Antonelli apologized over the team radio, repeating his apology afterward.
Speaking to the media, he explained, “I don`t think I braked necessarily too late. But when I did brake, I braked hard, and at that moment, I locked the rear wheels, and I simply couldn`t steer the car. It was too late because I was approaching the corner too fast. The collision was unavoidable. I feel incredibly sorry for my team, and for Max as well.”
