Kimi Antonelli with brake problems: “I nearly crashed into the wall”

The Singapore Grand Prix didn’t exactly provide a thrilling spectacle on the track on Sunday – but a few incidents did suddenly have the fans on the edge of their seats: Kimi Antonelli, who later fought his way up to third place, suddenly radioed during the Grand Prix to say he was having brake problems. Following the retirement of his Mercedes team-mate George Russell the previous day in the Sprint race after a crash (and a week earlier in Sepang due to engine failure), this naturally caught everyone’s attention.

Antonelli: I nearly crashed into the wall

After the race, Antonelli explained what had happened: “I was simply trying to lift off the throttle before every braking manoeuvre and let the car coast, so as to enter the corner a bit slower and put less pressure on the pedal. Because, especially at the restart after the VSC phase, nothing happened when I tried to brake. My braking performance was really poor and I nearly crashed into the wall.” Fortunately, though, everything turned out fine!

Antonelli: “So it was very tricky out there, and on top of that the pedal travel was very long. But that was to be expected, in a way. I spent three-quarters of the race drafting behind another car, and of course it was very hot there. On top of that, we had the problem with the brake sensor, so we didn’t even have any data on the brakes. We didn’t know exactly what temperature they were running at, so it was all down to feel. But they were hot – I could even smell it – so that wasn’t particularly pleasant.” To make matters worse, it’s already extremely hot in Singapore even outside the car.

Antonelli: F1 World Champion in Austin?

But everything went smoothly – and in the next race in Austin in two weeks’ time, Antonelli now has the chance to mathematically secure his first world title. Antonelli: “I know it’s very close, I know it’s there, but I just have to make sure I keep giving my best. The mindset is always the same: go out there, win and put in my best performance.”

Reflecting self-critically on Singapore, the young Italian says: “I don’t think I drove particularly well this weekend. I felt I could have done better, but I’m confident that after a week’s break I’ll be back on top form, and I’m really looking forward to being back in Austin. But ultimately, the fact is: if I don’t do my job properly, the results won’t come. So to achieve what I’ve set out to do, I have to deliver – it’s as simple as that.”

Topic of the week

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Fans could hardly believe their eyes at what they witnessed at the Bahrain Grand Prix: cars crawling along, racing cars that simply came to a standstill. The FIA narrowly avoided a fiasco like the one at Indy in 2005.

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