Sky Sports F1 analyst Jamie Chadwick characterized Kimi Antonelli’s qualifying crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as a relapse into former tendencies, deeming his Q1 off as an unjustified gamble considering Mercedes’ superior pace.
Antonelli, who holds an 81-point advantage over teammate George Russell in the drivers’ championship, abruptly halted his qualifying session after brushing the wall on the demanding Baku City Circuit.
The front-left damage concluded his qualifying efforts, while his teammate and primary title competitor secured pole position.
“I’d say it’s uncharacteristic. The way we see Kimi drive a lot of the time is that there’s one gear. It’s all in. It’s all everything,” Chadwick explained during the Sky Sports broadcast.
“Last year we saw that come with mistakes and crashes. This year we have not really seen that from him. So it has felt a bit like Kimi of old in a way, and it was like that one gear, and he just didn’t really need to do it.
“That said, I think it is easy to make mistakes like that; we know that at a track like this. But you are in a Mercedes that was clearly in a league of its own at this track, first lap of Q1, and you didn’t need to take that much risk.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“It just caught him out, the grip that he clearly had at Turn 1. You go into qualifying, and the car is always a bit more alive than it would have been for him in FP3, and it caught him out. He will pay the price, but I think he can still come through tomorrow.”
Antonelli will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from 16th on the grid. Despite the starting position, 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve backed the Italian driver to make his way back through the field.
“It’s not an inch, it’s a lot. An incredible mistake, and he makes it on a weekend where his teammate is in a league of its own,” the Canadian told Sky Sports F1.
“So, not the best of times for that, but with the current rules they facilitate getting back through the field.”
