No footage of the 130R, Antonelli’s onboard lap becomes a case. F1 justifies itself: “Technical problem”

More controversy

There seems to be no respite from the controversy for this new generation of Formula 1 cars, already in the crosshairs for superclipping and ‘slow-motion’ qualifying, in which it becomes more convenient for drivers to let the car roll, be consistent and follow the ‘desires’ of the battery rather than trying to force the braking and find the limit. After the criticism expressed by the drivers, a new, incredible case has exploded on social networks, directly involving the official X channel of F1.

Read more 2026 United States GP, starting grid: Di Giannantonio, another pole! Bezzecchi 2nd, Bagnaia 4th ahead of Mir and Marquez

As usual, in fact, the Formula 1 profile of what was once called Twitter published the onboard footage of the lap that earned Andrea Kimi Antonelli pole position. It’s a pity, however, that right in the controversial section leading to the 130R corner and in the short subsequent straight leading to the Triangle chicane, the onboard footage ‘cuts’ and is replaced by images from external cameras. That is precisely the point on the track where superclipping comes into play and the drivers, while continuing to push the accelerator to the maximum, decelerate, losing about 55 km/h in speed.

Attacks and response

Immediately, X users went wild, reporting the F1 post and complaining that it is not a real onboard video since the entire final part of Antonelli’s lap is not captured by the cameras on the #12 car. The accusation against F1, naturally, was that they wanted to ‘censor’ the cockpit footage of the section of the track where this new generation of cars evidently shows its least spectacular side.

Read more Di Giannantonio: “The most adrenaline-filled lap of my life. In the Sprint it will be a battle”

The numerous criticisms and reports appearing on the popular social network even forced the F1 account to issue an official response. According to what was written by the Circus’s X channel, there were “technical problems” that prevented the footage from the camera mounted on the cockpit of the Mercedes W17 in the offending section of the track: “Unfortunately – reads the post published by F1 – Kimi’s onboard camera had a technical issue part way through his lap, so we are unable to show you the full lap. To analyze his lap, take a look at our ‘ghost car’ comparison and the full onboard view of George Russell’s fastest qualifying lap here“, with an attached link. In this case, the 130R and ‘superclipping’ are regularly present in the video.

Read more Race strategies, Pirelli: “We don’t rule out any of the three compounds”