David Coulthard shares what angry Kimi Antonelli told him ‘off-camera’ at Austrian Grand Prix

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Kimi Antonelli lost 10 points to Mercedes teammate George Russell after finishing third in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Antonelli backed out of his qualifying lap on Saturday, unlike Russell, because he mistakenly thought Max Verstappen’s crash had triggered double yellows. That left him fourth on the grid with his teammate on pole.

The Italian, who had to deal with a brake inconsistency during the race, once again showed formidable speed and crossed the line just three-tenths behind Max Verstappen. But the fact remains that Russell has gained 28 points in two weekends (mostly due to Antonelli’s electrical failure in Barcelona) and closed the gap to 40.

Your championship standings after the Austrian GP! What has this win done for George Russell’s title chances?

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David Coulthard: Kimi Antonelli’s anger got the better of him in Austria

Antonelli made an erratic start to the race, leaving the track multiple times on the opening lap. That saw him drop to fifth behind Russell, Verstappen and the two Ferraris.

Ferrari fell away but Antonelli lost ground to the top two and spent most of the race trying to make up for it.

Team boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports afterwards that Antonelli had tried to win the race in the first two laps, and the driver himself told David Coulthard that he had been racing ‘angry’ at the start.

Coulthard said on Channel 4: “Talking off-camera unfortunately, before I did the top three, he said, ‘I was driving angry from yesterday’, angry at his qualifying.

“That’s why he did that, he said. But later on, he said, ‘I was so fast’. You could see the passion.”

Antonelli set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:10.374, three-tenths quicker than any time Russell managed.

While Russell’s pole lap was controversial and the marshals on the scene of the Verstappen accident may have made a mistake, he knows he didn’t take the opportunity to improve his time.

Before encountering the yellows, Antonelli had gained nearly a tenth in the first sector and almost two-tenths in the second. He had matched Russell through both segments.