Antonelli fumes at 'unnecessary' Baku crash that leaves him 16th as Russell takes pole

Kimi Antonelli will line up 16th on the grid for Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix after the Formula 1 championship leader clipped the inside wall at Turn 1 during Q1 in Baku, ending his session with terminal suspension damage to his Mercedes W17.

The 20-year-old Italian had already set a time good enough to advance to Q2 on his first flying lap when he misjudged the grip level at the start of his second run. The incident left him stranded in the garage while team-mate George Russell went on to demolish the rest of the field, claiming pole position by eight tenths of a second — a margin that underlined just how much Antonelli likely surrendered with the error.

“It was just a misjudgement with the grip changing so much,” Antonelli said. “An unnecessary one in Q1, and it’s a very good reminder that like this, things don’t go my way, so I need to do a much better job. I had a lot more headwind compared to the lap before, so the front just was much stronger, and I turned in roughly in the same spot, but obviously the car turned more and I clipped the wall.”

The crash compounded an already difficult weekend for Antonelli, who had missed a significant portion of Thursday practice with a hydraulic issue. He acknowledged he “wasn’t 100% there” and was candid about Russell’s superior form across the session.

“George has been doing an incredible job this weekend,” Antonelli said. “He’s been feeling very good with the car, so for sure he has made the difference. I have to be honest with that, but also the car has been very, very quick.”

Antonelli’s situation inevitably invites comparison with his stunning comeback drive at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where he started from the rear of the grid and went on to win. Baku’s 6km street circuit does offer overtaking opportunities on its long straight, but Antonelli was careful to temper expectations of a direct repeat.

“It’s going to be a bit harder than Monza because it’s a bit harder to overtake here,” he said. “But I believe we can still do a good race. I have nothing to lose, and I just need to do the best race I can.”

His plan for the race is straightforward: a clean start, staying out of trouble, and building pace through the field. Despite the setback, Antonelli remains the championship leader heading into Saturday’s race.