BAKU, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend the worst of his season after recovering to finish fifth in Saturday’s race following a costly qualifying crash that left him starting 16th on the grid.
A troubled weekend for Antonelli, that began with a hydraulics problem in Thursday practice, put a blot on an otherwise flawless season for the 20-year-old Italian.
It coincided with a dominant weekend for Mercedes teammate George Russell who took his third win of the season and narrowed the gap at the top of the standings from 81 to 66 points.
“Obviously, it was the worst weekend by far of the season,” said Antonelli, winner of eight races this year, who went into the Azerbaijan weekend gunning for a third successive triumph.
“I felt always a step behind and especially with the mistake in qualifying, the confidence level was not high.”
Antonelli’s drive on Saturday could not have been more different than his 19th-to-first charge through the field in his home Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
His Baku comeback was instead more of a slow-burn recovery.
Antonelli, who was hobbled by contact with a Haas car, said he had driven a race of damage limitation.
He would bounce back next weekend in Malaysia, he added.
“I think this weekend taught me a lot,” said Antonelli, who is on course to become the first Italian to win the Formula One title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
“I think in many occasions this weekend… I don’t know, probably also with the mindset, I was not in the best pace.
“I’ll just make sure that next weekend we get back at the right level.”
(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Baku; editing by Clare Fallon)
