The Austrian Grand Prix was one to quickly forget for Max Verstappen. In front of his own Orange Army, the Dutchman experienced a disastrous Sunday. In the first round, Andrea Kimi Antonelli unfortunately collided with his Red Bull; it marked Max’s first retirement since the Australian GP in 2024. After the race, Verstappen remained remarkably calm. According to him, the incident with Antonelli was simply the result of an unfortunate mistake.
“The start was good,” Verstappen assured the media in Spielberg. “That was already an improvement compared to the last two or three races – I was really not satisfied with how I got away then. But yes, after that the race was of course over in turn three,” he referred to the incident with Antonelli. “At that moment I didn’t know exactly what the damage was, but it soon turned out to be quite serious; the car shut down by itself. That’s just bad luck, especially when you look at the whole weekend.” Due to a poorly timed yellow flag, Verstappen only recorded the seventh time during qualifying. “In terms of pace, we were not satisfied anyway,” he explained. “Hopefully, it will be better next week.”
‘Antonelli is still a great talent’
Verstappen and Antonelli left the track together, deep in conversation, as the camera footage showed. “I just asked what had happened – I saw that he too had stranded with a broken wheel,” the Red Bull driver explained. “When I later reviewed the footage, I saw that he simply made a mistake. That can happen to the best. Kimi (Antonelli) is still a great talent,” Verstappen defended the young Mercedes driver.
The incident not only cost Verstappen his race but also valuable championship points. Title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who once again scored a one-two for McLaren, increased their lead by 46 and 61 points respectively. However, Verstappen seemed unfazed by this, as he explained. “I’m not at all concerned about that,” he concluded decisively. “I just take it race by race. I want to learn more about the car and see how we can find more performance. After that, I’ll see how it goes.” Can we expect a turnaround next week, during the British GP? “We’re definitely not going to be able to catch McLaren,” the Dutchman assured.
The collision between Max Verstappen and Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the Austrian GP was a significant event.
