The Italian was running second and fighting for victory when a problem with the left front wheel forced him to make two extra pit stops. He dropped to 10th place and a five second penalty for track limits relegated him to 16th.
Kimi Antonelli lived a Sunday to forget at the British Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver was left without points after a mechanical problem on his W17 when he was running second and fighting for victory ruined his race. The Italian, who had won the sprint on Saturday, arrived at Silverstone with a 40 point lead over his teammate George Russell and leaves with only 25 after a weekend he described as hard to digest.
"I was within striking distance of victory, it was a shame not to have even had the chance to try, but that's how things are, I couldn't believe it because it went from bad to worse. When I came out after the last stop the car was more or less drivable but I was missing a lot of downforce. I think tenth place was very achievable despite the penalty, I was pulling away and I think I would have had the necessary advantage but then the Safety Car came out and I knew it was over."
The problem occurred on lap 41 when the left front wheel deflector came off and made it difficult to turn the car. Antonelli had to make two extra pit stops to try to solve the problem, which dropped him to tenth position. In addition, a five second penalty for exceeding track limits (caused by the car's handling difficulties) and the Safety Car in the final laps caused by Max Verstappen's crash relegated him to sixteenth final position.
Antonelli reflected on the streak of bad luck he has suffered in recent races: "We had an incredible streak with five races, five consecutive wins and everything was probably going too well. We had two retirements in three races and obviously it's hard to digest, because in Barcelona I was second and here I was going for the win, I think we had a real chance and I was within striking distance" explained the Italian, who has seen his championship lead considerably reduced.
The Silverstone race was especially painful for Antonelli because he had shown excellent pace throughout the weekend, winning the sprint on Saturday and showing good pace in practice.
The Italian trusts that the team can solve the reliability problems that have plagued his performance in recent races and return to fighting for wins in the upcoming races: "The most important thing is that we come back stronger" concluded Antonelli.
