Martin Brundle highlights valuable F1 lesson for Kimi Antonelli after Silverstone ‘heartbreak’
Martin Brundle shares his verdict on a "heartbreaking" race for F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli learned a harsh but valuable lesson during a "heartbreaking" British Grand Prix, according to ex-Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports co-commentator Martin Brundle.
Championship leader Antonelli suffered the latest blow to his hopes of winning a maiden F1 world title this year after more reliability problems and a penalty denied him the chance of winning at Silverstone.
Antonelli was catching race-leader Charles Leclerc with much fresher tyres in the final stint when one of his wheel shields became dislodged. The Italian teenager pitted twice for repairs and picked up a five-second time penalty for repeated track limits infringements as he struggled to keep his Mercedes on track.
Having crossed the line in ninth place under a safety car finish, Antonelli dropped out of the points and down to 15th in the final classification after his penalty was applied.
Brundle reckons Antonelli should have been clearer when relaying the information about his car problems back to his Mercedes team.
"It was heartbreaking for him, but another lesson learned as he did not give clear enough information on his way into the pits about his problems," Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports column.
"The team changed the easy and fast parts with a new nose and front wing, and fresh tyres, and sent him out, but the offending bodywork was still blocking his steering and he had to pit again two laps later.
"Kimi persevered and, still in 10th place with a potentially critical one point in his pocket, he found remarkable pace again and carried on.”
The result means Antonelli is now just 25 points clear of Mercedes team-mate George Russell, and 32 ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes ultimately decided against attempting to overturn Antonelli’s track limits penalty after the race, but Brundle thinks a tweak to the rules is required to avoid a repeat happening in the future.
"But with his issues he had been off the track five times and was given a five-second penalty for 'track limits'," Brundle continued.
"That rule needs adjusting, track limit penalties are for when drivers gain a competitive advantage by cutting corners or running wide and so able to carry more speed.
“They should not be applied when you're surviving a mechanical issue or getting out of the way."
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