Apologetic Kimi Antonelli will “think twice” after wiping out Charles Leclerc

Mercedes Formula 1 rookie Kimi Antonelli has taken full responsibility for the crash that took out Charles Leclerc from the Dutch Grand Prix, saying he will “think twice” before attempting a similar move again.

Antonelli sensed an opportunity to grab seventh with 20 laps to go, as Ferrari rival Leclerc emerged from the pits just ahead on cold tyres.

But as the Italian moved to the inside at the banked Turn 3, he clipped Leclerc’s car and sent him spinning into the barriers.

Although Antonelli managed to continue the race with limited damage to his car, the stewards handed him a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision, leaving him outside the points-scoring positions.

Kimi Antonelli apologises to Charles Leclerc

The 19-year-old revealed that he tried to back out of the move when he sensed it wouldn’t work, but by that point he was already headed on a collision course with the Ferrari.

“I just saw it [on TV],” he told the media, including Crash.net. “It's a shame because the pace was good. We were coming back in front. 

“I knew that was probably the best chance I had to make the move because I was very close to him.

“He had colder tyres and I just tried the move, but it was a bit too much.

“When I saw him, he was coming back in front, I tried to let it go, but it was not enough.”

He added: “I went for it. I went for it because it's so difficult to overtake. The more laps you do in dirty air, the more it hurts your tyre and your pace. So I went for it and it was a bit too much.

“I just tried at some point to let it go, but it was not enough. Obviously, I feel sorry to him and next time, I will probably think twice before making the move, unless I'm 100% sure that I'm going to stick it.”

Kimi Antonelli penalised for pitlane issue

Antonelli was separately handed a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane, compounding his afternoon at Zandvoort.

A late safety car dealt the final blow, wiping out the gap he had established over his rivals and dropping him from sixth to 16th after the penalties were applied.

“The speed limit [infraction] is something I need to make sure it doesn't happen again,” said the Mercedes driver.

“I'm not too sure when I did it, but it was probably the first pit stop, so we need to make sure that doesn't happen. 

“Also, the late safety car was unfortunate because I already had almost a 10-second gap over the guy behind, and it would have been possible to finish P6 or P7.”

The incident with Leclerc resulted in a double retirement for Ferrari at Zandvoort, with Lewis Hamilton having crashed out of the race on his own at the same corner on lap 23.