Antonelli left ’empty’ after Barcelona Grand Prix retirement

MONTMELO: Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli was left feeling empty after his Mercedes gave up the ghost in the final stages of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday, forcing him to retire from second.

The Italian teenager holds a 41-point lead on race winner Lewis Hamilton but lost ground after the incident.

“I feel a bit empty to be fair right now, but it is what it is,” said the 19-year-old, who won the previous five Grands Prix.

“I didn’t see it coming… all of a sudden I was at the apex of turn five and the car just gave up,” continued Antonelli.

The youngster said the car’s reliability was a “bit of a concern” because of issues they have had this season, despite Mercedes’ dominance to this point.

Hamilton was the first driver of another team to win a race this season after Mercedes’ George Russell won the opener in Australia and then Antonelli took control.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said his team needed to get a handle on the situation.

“In order to finish first, first you have to finish and reliability, this is what we need to get on top of, that’s number one,” he said.

“So nobody is happy about that and we will leave no stone unturned to understand.”

Antonelli’s retirement allowed Russell to finish second behind Hamilton.

“It’s a shame not seeing how the race ended for him and obviously for us as a team,” Russell told reporters.

“We’ve had a few failures recently, so that’s a big concern for us.”

Russell, third in the standings behind Antonelli and Hamilton, said he was happy to see his former team-mate at Mercedes succeeding with the Scuderia.

“It was a big bold move to join Ferrari and to see it now paying off for him is, yeah, very special to see, given the magnitude of the decision,” added Russell. “He’s going to be a real threat.”