Following their incident during Sunday’s F1 US GP, both Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli gave their comments on the race-defining moment.
The duo came together on Lap 6 of the US GP, when Sainz went for a move on the inside of Turn 15. The Williams driver clipped the back of the Mercedes of Antonelli, who spun, but was able to continue. Meanwhile, Sainz suffered damage and had to retire from the GP.
The Stewards later ruled that Sainz was to blame for the incident and handed the Spaniard a five-place grid penalty for the upcoming Mexican GP.
Speaking to the media after the race, Sainz, who had already scored a brilliant third position in the sprint, noted that he had good pace and saw an opportunity to make up another position, making a successful pass on Oliver Bearman on Lap 2.
Brake lock-up caused the collision with Antonelli
However, the 31-year-old was met with a harsher defense from Antonelli, prompting Sainz to slam the brakes, which led to a lock-up and a race-ending collision with Bearmann.
“It didn’t quite work out the same way that it did with Ollie [Bearman],” said Sainz.
“I felt like at the time I was on a very good pace, very good feeling with the car, and I felt like it was a good opportunity to make a move.
“Unfortunately, with Kimi [Antonelli], it didn’t work out in the same way.
“I felt like Kimi [Antonelli] was quite a bit more aggressive than Ollie [Bearman] on the defense and on the turning to the corner, and that kind of scared me at the time, which forced me to hit the brakes hard to avoid a collision.
“In the end, it didn’t matter because I locked the brakes, and I hit him, and we caused an accident. But it looks a lot worse from the outside than what it felt from the inside.
“In the end, it’s a shame because we were very quick today.”
Sainz does not regret attempting to overtake Antonelli
While the Spaniard’s pass on Antonelli wasn’t successful and ended his race early, Sainz does not regret going for the overtake.
Sainz explained that he could have ‘played it safe’ but saw an opportunity on part of the track where he had launched successful overtakes in the past, so he went for it in hopes of a better result.
“It’s always the same with racing.
“I could have played it safe, been in P8, not try and move on Kimi [Antonelli] and follow him to the flag, and bring four points to the team and celebrate that. In the end, when you’re racing, you always want more, you always go for it.
“I went for it with Ollie [Bearmann] and it worked perfectly fine. It’s a corner where I’ve done multiple overtakes in the past, and I’ve never crashed.
“This time around, with Kimi [Antonelli], it didn’t quite work out, so it’s what it is.”
Antonelli tried to avoid contact with Sainz
Whereas Sainz’s race ended on Lap 6, Antonelli was able to continue his charge. The Mercedes driver dropped to the back of the field but recovered to finish the US GP in 13th place.
The young Italian felt he had given Sainz enough room to avoid contact when speaking to the media following the conclusion of the US GP.
“It’s a shame, it’s a pity.
“I didn’t think he [referring to Sainz] was going to make the corner anyway, and I tried to avoid hitting the apex just to give him a bit more space, but I ended up getting taken out.
“So, it’s a shame, but yeah, we move forward.”
Despite the incident with Sainz that cost Antonelli a better position, the young Italian was satisfied with the pace of his Mercedes, even though he struggled with high tyre degradation.
“No, I think pace was pretty good. I had a few laps in clean air as well. I think the pace was pretty okay.
“Still, it was difficult out there with the deg [degradation], which was very high. But yeah, now we focus on Mexico.”
