- Published
Kimi Antonelli says his crash in qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was "stupid" and "a good way to come back to earth" as he pursues his first world title.
asserted
he → say → title
The Mercedes driver, who has been running away with the championship this season, hit a wall in first qualifying in Baku and will start Saturday's race 16th.
Team-mate George Russell, his closest pursuer in the title race, starts from pole after a dominant performance.
asserted
Russell → run → performance
Antonelli said: "I misjudged with the grip being so different compared to the first lap.
asserted
grip → say → lap
I hit the wall.
asserted
I → hit → wall
"So it's a good way to come back to earth and to remind myself I need to be on top of it every time because otherwise I do these mistakes and a very stupid one."
asserted
I → come → mistakes
He added that he was "very mad about it".
asserted
he → add → it
The 20-year-old Italian has been on the back foot all weekend, fighting to make up for time lost to a reliability problem in practice on Thursday.
asserted
Italian → fight → Thursday
His Mercedes suffered a hydraulic leak halfway through the first session and the car was not ready for him to go back out on track until halfway through the second session.
asserted
him → suffer → session
Antonelli was 0.252secs behind Russell in final practice on Friday, 0.092secs quicker than the Briton after his first lap in qualifying and then made his mistake on his second.
asserted
Antonelli → make → second
His error brought back memories of last year's grand prix in Baku, which proved to be a turning point in the 2025 championship.
asserted
which → bring → championship
McLaren's Oscar Piastri appeared on course for his first world title heading into this race, leading team-mate Lando Norris by 31 points.
But the Australian crashed in qualifying, jumped the start and then crashed out of the race on the first lap, and his season came off the rails after that.
asserted
season → appear → that
Antonelli's error gives Russell, who is 81 points adrift in the championship, a second chance in three races to narrow his deficit to the Italian.
asserted
who → give → Italian
But the Briton has sounded resigned to losing out on the title for some time and he referred back to Antonelli's stunning drive at the Italian Grand Prix, which he won after starting 19th on the grid because of a penalty.
asserted
he → sound → penalty
Russell said: "You can't discount Kimi.
asserted
You → say → Kimi
You know, started 19th in Monza and now he's in 16th, so, yeah, he should be leading by a few laps early this time
asserted
he → know → laps
Russell also pointed out that this was the first significant mistake Antonelli had made in a competitive session all year.
asserted
Antonelli → point → session
Asked if he believed Antonelli's mistake was a result of "title jitters", Russell said: "When you look at every championship campaign, even for the winners, there are mistakes along the way.
asserted
you → ask → way
"So, I still keep on believing and keep on fighting until it isn't possible any more.
asserted
it → keep → ?
But I don't feel any pressure.
asserted
I → feel → pressure
"I feel excitement every time I jump in the car now, purely because I feel more confident in myself.
asserted
I → feel → myself
"When that confidence starts to build, it's just like this upward cycle.
"
asserted
it → start → cycle
On the flip side, when you're on the back foot, you start losing that confidence and then you start pushing the limits more, and that's when mistakes happen.
asserted
mistakes → start → limits
It's the first mistake he's made in a qualifying or race this whole year."
asserted
he → make → qualifying
The Baku street circuit has a long straight that affords good overtaking possibilities and has a reputation for producing incident-packed races.
asserted
that → have → races
Asked about potential challengers in the race, in addition to Antonelli, Russell said Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who qualified eighth after a difficult session, "is going to be a threat".
asserted
who → ask → session
Verstappen, who was quickest in final practice just ahead of Russell, suffered a string of problems that he said had stopped him taking a place on the front row alongside the Mercedes.
"The whole qualifying was not how it should be," he said.
asserted
he → suffer → Mercedes
"Already from Q1 the engine was 0.5secs down on the straight compared to my team-mate and they can't explain or understand why.
asserted
they → compare → mate
"Then in Q3 on my middle lap my battery didn't charge to 100% so I had to abort the lap which means you lose tyre temp and around here that's killing.
asserted
that → charge → temp
"I tried to push... but being down on top speed and I had a yellow flag from Lando in front of me, [which] meant that's where we are."
asserted
we → try → me
The Dutchman added: "The whole weekend we were running really well and then we run into so much trouble in qualifying.
asserted
we → add → qualifying
"Looking at George's lap, I don't think we would have fought for pole but there is a big gap behind and we should have slotted in to that easily.
asserted
we → look → that
"But when you have that many issues you also don't deserve to be there.
asserted
you → have → issues
We need to be more robust and we need to be on top of these things."
asserted
we → need → things
The Aporia
