Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli suffered another hit of bad luck, as suspension problems took over his car on the final laps and left him out of the points in the F1 2026 British GP.
The young Italian had started the race in pole. As the lights went out, he was quickly overtaken by both Ferraris, with Leclerc stealing the lead. Still, he kept his head high and hunted down the red cars. Eventually, Antonelli passed Hamilton into Copse, and continued his race to try and reach Leclerc ahead.
The Mercedes driver gained the lead by staying out while everyone pitted. Laps later, as he went in to switch his tyres, Hulkenberg slowed him in the fast lane, but he still came out P2. Once again, Antonelli hunted down Leclerc, taking advantage of his 10-lap tyres offset. Cutting down a second per lap, the Italian’s win appeared imminent when his car slowed down dramatically.
The team called Antonelli into the pits to try to fix the problem. Still, with a new front wing and fresh tyres, front suspension problems forced him to pit once again to remove a broken wheel shield. Even as he returned to track P10 and climbed to P9 with Verstappen’s DNF, Antonelli was finally hit with a 5-second penalty for drifting out of track limits as he fought to finish the race.
The F1 2026 British GP ended in heartbreak for the young driver. He was pushed down to P16 and lost any possibility of gaining points. After five consecutive wins, this is the third race in a row where Antonelli did not climb to the top step of the podium. Missing out on points at Silverstone, and a few weekends ago in Barcelona-Catalunya.
Antonelli: “Something fundamental that was broken”
After the disappointing result at the 2026 British GP, Antonelli tried to explain what happened to his W17. “Yeah, I lost, I don’t know how much downforce, the car wouldn’t turn anymore.
“In some of the corners, the wheel was in the air, so there was something like fundamental that was broken.”
During the race, he tried to understand the issue with his team, but noted something else was wrong. “We only know now that the wheel shield broke, but we don’t know if something else broke, because by the loss it feels like it was more than just a wheel shield.”
“But then of course, the team will have more time to analyse it,” he lamented: “But it was a shame because we had a shot for the win; I think we were going for it.
“I try to give everything” says Antonelli on last laps heroics
Even when retirement seemed to be the answer, Antonelli was set on fighting for at least one point. His mission was further complicated as he was given a five-second penalty for track limits. Still, the Italian pushed ahead to build a gap to the Alpines behind. But his chances were dashed as Verstappen went off into the gravel and a safety car ended the race.
When asked about how important it was for his team to see his commitment to fight, Antonelli said: “I mean, I just showed that I have the mindset. That every time I go on track I do my best, that I try to give everything, and that even today, despite things that were already going against us, I saw that there was the possibility to get one point, and I was just trying my best to achieve that.
“I was going to achieve that, but then the safety car came, and I just didn’t really have the possibility to even try for that.”
Antonelli’s thoughts on his penalty at the British GP
The Mercedes driver was also asked about how surprising it was to receive the penalty for track limits. During the F1 2026 British GP, Antonelli complained on the radio about how unfair the penalty was, insisting that he had gone off due to reliability issues and a lack of front suspension.
Out of the heat of the competition, he conceded: “I mean these are the rules. So I cannot do anything about it.
“But of course I was trying my best to stay on track, but it was really undrivable. And of course to get a penalty for that it hurts. But these are the rules and nothing I can do about it.”
“Momentum is still there” insists Antonelli on championship chances after British GP
On his outlook for the championship ahead, Antonelli clarified: “I think we lost a lot of points, but the momentum is there. Because I think this weekend we showed the speed, and we showed as well what the potential can be.”
The Italian remains first in the drivers’ championship with 179 points. After the 2026 British GP, teammate Russell closed in with 154, taking advantage of the carnage and climbing to P2. Behind, Hamilton stays third with 147 as Leclerc gains positions with 108 points.
“When I’m in a good place, when we’re in a good place with the team, with the car, we showed what we are capable of,” explained Antonelli. “So I think that the momentum is still there. And actually, it makes the fire grow even more. To go out there, inspire and try to do even better,” he concluded.
