Antonelli salvages fifth after Baku crash as Russell cuts championship gap
A costly mistake, followed by a resilient recovery
Kimi Antonelli described the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as his worst weekend of the season, yet the Formula 1 championship leader still recovered from 16th on the grid to finish fifth at the Baku City Circuit.
Antonelli’s difficult weekend began in qualifying when he hit the inside concrete wall at Turn 1 during his opening Q1 lap. The impact damaged the front-left corner of his Mercedes and ended his session, leaving him classified 16th while team-mate George Russell went on to take pole position.
“A very unnecessary mistake,” Antonelli said after the crash. “It’s a good way to come back to Earth and to remind myself that I need to be on top of it every time, because otherwise I do these mistakes, and a very stupid one.”
Damage made the race even harder
Antonelli initially dropped a place at the start and needed 17 laps to reach the top 10. He then advanced as rivals made mistakes, while also surviving a chaotic rolling restart and contact with Oliver Bearman’s Haas.
The contact caused substantial damage to the Mercedes. “My whole left side was gone with the contact,” Antonelli said. “After that, the car was very sketchy to drive.”
Rather than forcing the issue, Antonelli adopted a cautious approach. “I was driving a bit like my grandmother today, just damage save mode,” he said, explaining that he avoided unnecessary risks once he realised the car lacked its usual pace.
Russell closes in
Russell converted pole into victory, cutting Antonelli’s advantage in the championship to 66 points. The result gave Russell his strongest weekend since the season opener, although he is expected to face a grid penalty later in the season after an engine change.
Antonelli remained positive despite surrendering ground. “George has done an incredible weekend, he’s driven incredibly,” he said. “And this weekend was my worst of the year by far in terms of performance.”
The championship battle now moves on to the next round, with Antonelli looking to restore the form that helped him win from 19th at Monza earlier in September.