Antonelli reacts after his late retirement: "I feel a bit empty right now"

The Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix ended in heartbreak for Kimi Antonelli after a late retirement from the race. The stop was a result of the engine of his W17 conking out mid-battle for second place with George Russell.

Credit: Formula One

On Lap 62 of 64 in Barcelona, championship leader Kimi Antonelli pulled over to the side of the track and came to a slow stop, missing out on a podium finish only three laps before the chequered flag.

In the laps leading up to his stop, we saw the Italian driver battling for second place against his teammate, Russell. Antonelli managed to gain the second place position, but didn’t hold the position for long before his race came to an end.

Before slowing down and coming to a complete stop, we saw some damage on the end plate on the left front wing of Antonelli’s W17. The retirement is thought to be an engine reliability issue like we’ve seen previously with Russell’s car.

Following the incident in the race, Antonelli shared his reaction to what happened and also spoke on Lewis Hamilton's result.

"I think we were quickest on track today. Lewis, at the end, was very quick, but in the second stint we were super quick.

"Of course, Lewis, after the VSC, was not possible to catch, and by the way, I'm very happy for his win. It's good to see that he got his first win with Ferrari.

"On my side, it's very disappointing. I feel a bit empty right now, but at the same time, these things happen to everyone and the most important thing is to come back stronger."

We have now seen the pace that Ferrari have and are continuing to prove that they are able to keep up with Mercedes. When Antonelli was asked about the Italian outfit being a title contender, he said:

"For sure, they're in incredible form. Ferrari is very reliable, but they're quick as well.

"We just need to maximise every opportunity that we have and then try to do our best, but it's not going to be straightforward.

"I'm already looking forward to the next one, because I really want to go back to where we left off."

Today was the first time this season that Antonelli has gone without points. He still leads the standings with 156 points and as a result of Hamilton winning the Grand Prix, the points gap between the both has been cut to only 41.

The next stop on the Formula One calendar is the Austrian Grand Prix. Assuming this result won’t knock Antonelli’s confidence, we should be in for more exciting and dramatic back-and-forths between Mercedes and Ferrari.

As Antonelli previously said, he’s looking forward to getting back on track in two weeks time to pick up where they left off, and will be hoping to get back to his winning ways.