Mercedes workforce principal Toto Wolff defended junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli over the collision which eradicated him from the primary race after his breakthrough win in Method 2.
Antonelli is into account for a promotion to Method 1 with the workforce subsequent yr because it seeks a alternative for Lewis Hamilton. The 17-year-old watched Hamilton finish his two-and-a-half yr victory drought from the Mercedes storage on Sunday.
“I had this second the place you see the best British driver trying out with us on the British Grand Prix, and within the storage you had this younger Italian who hasn’t acquired a driving licence that was watching that scene, and I wager he thought ‘I need to be that at some point’,” Wolff instructed media together with RaceFans.
He heaped reward on Antonelli’s victory in Saturday’s dash race which was run in closely moist situations and red-flagged at one stage because of the quantity of water on the circuit. Antonelli took the chequered flag within the partial-reverse-grid race 8.6 seconds forward of Zane Maloney.
“Seeing him on Saturday strolling over the water, at occasions two seconds faster than all people, you’ll be able to see the expertise and the flexibility and the potential this younger man has,” stated Wolff. “Successful that race I believe took numerous weight off his shoulders.”
Nonetheless Antonelli was taken out on the primary lap of the characteristic race by Kush Maini, whom he handed after beginning two locations behind the Invicta driver in the course of the grid.
“Immediately it was DNF nevertheless it wasn’t his fault,” stated Wolff. “Susie [Wolff] all the time says ‘you qualify with numpties, you race with numpties’.”
The stewards held Maini answerable for the collision, noting he blamed a brake drawback and apologised to Antonelli. “The stewards decided that automotive 9 [Maini] was wholly guilty for the collision with automotive 4 [Antonelli] and subsequently imposed a 10-second time penalty plus two penalty factors,” they dominated. These have been Maini’s first penalty factors of the season.
Advert | Turn into a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a every day electronic mail with all our newest tales – and nothing else. No advertising, no adverts. Enroll right here:
