Extension in the standings
Andrea Kimi Antonelli won again. The Italian also prevailed in the Spanish GP in Madrid, this time taking advantage of a gift kindly offered by the Race Direction, which deployed the Virtual Safety Car immediately after the race leader at that moment – Lando Norris – had passed the pit lane entry.
Read more Vasseur: “Unlucky, with a Safety Car we could have fought for the victory”
Antonelli and Verstappen, who were second and third at that moment, thus had an easy time overtaking the reigning world champion. Now the Bolognese Mercedes driver has an 81-point lead over teammate George Russell and 101 over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. In short, superstition aside, it seems clear that only Antonelli can lose this World Championship.
Wolff preaches calm
Yet interviewed by Sky Sport F1 after the race, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff tried to temper enthusiasm: “It’s a mechanical sport – Wolff reminded – we have already seen during this season that our car and also the engine have been a bit fragile. Naturally, today he [Antonelli] took a step forward [towards the title] and so did the team and for that we are happy, very happy. But the celebration only happens when it’s mathematically certain”.
Read more Leclerc: “It was a fine race, we were expecting a miracle, but it didn’t come”
Then, when asked if Antonelli’s only rival now is reliability, Wolff replied: “Yes, absolutely. If you have one or two weekends without points and others score full points, at that point it’s no longer about 80 points but 50 or 30. That’s why I keep saying that we need to keep our feet on the ground and focus on the work“.
Read more Antonelli: “It was not the way I would have wanted to win. I feel sorry for Norris”
