Vasseur makes Antonelli's admission after unfortunate crash with Leclerc

22:32, 31 Sep

byTobia Elia

Frédéric Vasseur revealed that Kimi Antonelli visited the Ferrari motorhome after the race to apologize for the mistake in the Dutch GP that ended Charles Leclerc’s race.

On the Zandvoort afternoon, Charles Leclerc found himself in close battles with both Mercedes drivers—first with George Russell in a daring but successful overtaking attempt, and then with Kimi Antonelli.

In the latter duel, however, the Monegasque came off worse, falling victim to a mistake by the young Italian in turn 3 that effectively brought his race to an early end.

Antonelli’s race was also heavily compromised, with Kimi forced to make an extra pit stop to repair the damage to his W16, and later handed a double penalty that left him finishing well outside the points, precisely in sixteenth and penultimate position.

Both drivers spoke after the race, with Leclerc stating that Antonelli’s move was “too much,” while still acknowledging the difficulty of overtaking on a tight and twisty circuit like Zandvoort.

Frederic Vasseur

Antonelli apologized for mistake in Dutch GP

Asked by the media, including GPblog, whether Antonelli had gone to Ferrari to apologize for the mistake he made, team principal Frédéric Vasseur said: “He came. He came to apologize to Charles. Charles was not there, but he came to me. And honestly, I appreciate this, because this can happen.''

He then added: ''I think it's not so easy to overtake in Zandvoort. It means that you also have to take risks. He took a risk. He made a mistake, and to come and say, ‘Guys, sorry, my mistake,’ I think it's a good reaction.''

According to the Frenchman, the contact could also have been considered a simple racing incident: ''I think it's also a race incident for me, because when you are in this situation, you know you have one or two attempts maximum.”