Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Kimi Antonelli’s British Grand Prix unravelled dramatically in the closing stages, and David Coulthard is not happy with the penalty he received.
The championship leader looked on course to fight Charles Leclerc for the victory when he suddenly suffered a steering issue. It was later discovered that he had a problem with the wheel shield on the front left.
After pitting twice and eventually resolving the issue to some degree, his race got even worse as Antonelli was hit with a time penalty for various track limit infringements. He ran wide several times due to the problem as he fell down to 10th.
What are your thoughts on the British Grand Prix ending behind the safety car?
David Coulthard says Kimi Antonelli’s British Grand Prix penalty was ‘nonsense’
The Italian was promoted to ninth after Max Verstappen spun and retired from the race in the closing stages. As the safety car was deployed, Antonelli was told by his race engineer, Peter Bonnington, that he had been penalised for track limits.
The 19-year-old was not impressed, saying that he was actually losing time by running off the track. Coulthard and Jolyon Palmer were in complete agreement.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Coulthard said on Channel 4 (05/07, 4:17 pm): “Track limits are if you gain an advantage. Clearly, he hasn’t been gaining an advantage; he’s been losing a chunk of time, so come on! Let’s have a sensible pill on some of these rules and regulations.”
Palmer then echoed: “I think Mercedes can argue that. I think when you saw Leclerc on the last lap in Miami, he was literally cutting corners to go quicker with a car with a broken steering arm.
“Antonelli’s just been losing time. He’s been running wide and having to do more turning in a lot of the times that he’s been going off. I think they can argue that, I think that would be a nonsense penalty if he gets it.”
Charles Leclerc wins the British Grand Prix! Was he lucky, or was it fully deserved?
As it would happen, Antonelli’s penalty was confirmed almost immediately after, to which Palmer said: “Oh, there we go, nonsense penalty.” Coulthard agreed: “Nonsense!”
Leclerc took the win for Ferrari at the British Grand Prix ahead of Antonelli’s teammate Russell and Lewis Hamilton. It is a damaging result for the Italian’s title chances, as he now has just a 25-point lead.
Damon Hill felt Antonelli was over-exuberant at Silverstone, pointing out that it has been a weakness for him this season. It will be something to iron out moving forward, but luck was definitely not on his side.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
