Max Verstappen holds no ill will against Kimi Antonelli despite initially calling him a ‘f****** idiot’ following their crash at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris claimed a crucial victory at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, closing the gap to McLaren teammate and championship rival Oscar Piastri.
But there was huge drama on the opening lap when Antonelli locked his brakes at turn three and slammed into the side of Verstappen, with both drivers instantly out of the race.
‘I’m out, I got hit like crazy. F****** idiots,’ the four-time world champion fumed on the team radio before hopping out of his Red Bull.
Mercedes’ Antonelli was instantly apologetic, saying on the radio: ‘Sorry about that, I locked the rear,’ before chatting with Verstappen as they pair walked off the track.
Later, the Dutchman revealed what he told the rookie: ‘I didn’t know what happened, I just asked what happened and quite quickly I realised what happened.
‘So that can happen unfortunately, no one does that on purpose.’
From his side, Antonelli said: ‘I apologised to Max, but I don’t think he heard me. I didn’t want to ruin his race.
‘When the race is over, I’ll look for him to apologise.’
The Italian fulfilled his promise, visiting Red Bull’s hospitality area, with Verstappen adding: ‘I spoke to Kimi, he came quickly to the hospitality.
‘I think every driver has made a mistake like that at some point. Nobody does it on purpose. For me, it’s not a big deal.
‘It’s just unlucky, like yesterday in qualifying. But overall, we didn’t really have that great pace anyway this weekend, so a lot of learning for us how we can hopefully do better next weekend. But of course, not an ideal result today.’
Understandably, Antonelli is under investigation by the stewards and is very likely to pick up a grid penalty for next weekend’s British Grand Prix.
‘I didn’t necessarily brake too late, it’s just that when I braked, I braked hard because I was behind other cars, and in that moment I locked the rears. Then I just couldn’t stop the car,’ the 18-year-old told Sky Sports.
‘I locked the rear and then lost the car, and then had to avoid [Liam] Lawson. Then it was too late because I was arriving just too quick. I started to lock the front and instead of decelerating, I was accelerating.
‘The car was just taking speed and the crash was inevitable. Just feel super sorry to the team, and to Max of course, because obviously he was just a passenger.
F1 standings after Austrian Grand Prix
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 216pts
- Lando Norris (McLaren) – 201pts
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 155pts
- George Russell (Mercedes) – 146pts
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 119pts
‘Of course, it’s a big mistake. Now we need to move forward and focus on Silverstone. We’ll see if we get a penalty or not, but it’s going to be important to get back and start doing like I did in Canada.’
The result is a bitter blow for Verstappen who has enjoyed so much success in Austria, Red Bull’s home race, and means he has fallen further behind title rivals Piastri and Norris.
Ironically, there has been much speculation this weekend that Verstappen could replace Antonelli next year, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirming he’s in talks with the 27-year-old.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
