Following the Grand Prix of São Paulo, Andrea Kimi Antonelli reflected on the incident in turn 1, where he collided with Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque had to prematurely end his race, while Antonelli just managed to keep his car on the track. The Italian stated that he was fortunate to be able to continue after the contact with Leclerc.
During the restart, the three drivers dove side by side into the first turn, with Antonelli sandwiched between Leclerc and Piastri. The Australian was on the inside and tried to brake the Italian out. The two collided, causing Antonelli to lose control of his car and make contact with Leclerc. The Monegasque had to park his car with a damaged left front wheel off the track. After the race, Leclerc expressed his displeasure: “Of course we have rules and the stewards have to adhere to them,” he said. “But in this case, I think Kimi knew that Piastri was on the inside. Regardless of whether you’re racing side by side, you can’t take the turn if someone is there. For me, it was actually a fifty-fifty – both Piastri and Antonelli were to blame.”
“I was lucky to get away with it, because I hit Charles quite hard,” Antonelli said after the race. “Unfortunately, that meant the end of his race, and I’m obviously sorry about that. On my side, I was fortunate not to have too much damage.” Antonelli continued: “The car had some minor damage, and the steering wasn’t quite straight, but I was lucky that I could finish my race.” Although the FIA marked the incident as a mistake by Piastri – for which the Australian received a ten-second time penalty – the young Italian will undoubtedly learn from the moment. His daring move in the opening phase cost Ferrari valuable points, while he barely managed to continue his race. Antonelli finished the Grand Prix of São Paulo in second place, narrowly keeping Max Verstappen behind him.
