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Jenson Button has suggested that Kimi Antonelli made a ‘silly mistake’ that cost him vital points in his title fight against George Russell.
On Saturday, McLaren’s Lando Norris produced a commanding performance to win the Miami Grand Prix Sprint ahead of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
Meanwhile, world championship leader Antonelli, who started P2, was once again overtaken by multiple cars after a poor launch off the line.
Eventually, the young Italian crossed the line in fourth place, but he was then demoted to sixth place after being handed a five-second penalty for excessive track limits breaches.
As a result, Russell was moved up to fourth place, closing the gap between himself and Antonelli to just seven points.
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Jenson Button says Kimi Antonelli’s ‘silly mistake’ cost him against George Russell
Speaking after the session, 2009 Formula 1 world champion Button claimed that Antonelli’s ‘silly mistake’ of exceeding track limits caused him an ‘easy’ fourth-place finish.
More importantly, Button also touched on the fact that Antonelli has now lost three points to his biggest challenger for the 2026 world title.
Button said on Sky Sports: “The track limits breach, that’s just… I don’t want to say a silly mistake, but it is, really.
“It was an easy fourth position for him, and he’s just lost three points to his biggest title rival.”
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Kimi Antonelli claims he did ‘everything right’ at the start of the Miami Grand Prix Sprint
Reflecting on his own race, Antonelli admitted that he did not drive well, but claimed that he ‘for once’ did ‘everything right’ when the lights went out.
Antonelli’s claim was also backed by Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who suggested a system ‘glitch’ may have impacted the teenager’s launch.
As reported by Sky Sports, Antonelli said: “On my side for once, I did everything right with the procedures. We need to check what happened. The grip was very low, probably lower than we expected.
“After that, I was really frustrated and didn’t even drive well. I did a lot of mistakes and got track limits, which is something I need to avoid.
“This weekend has been more difficult but it was expected with everyone bringing big upgrades. We just need to maximise the result and now focus on qualifying.”
Wolff added: “We were hoping we would be able to hold on in terms of pure lap time but if you have such a bad getaway, which was not at all Kimi’s fault, it was a glitch on our side, it’s difficult.”
All eyes will now be on qualifying as McLaren aim to continue their momentum, but the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull will also be looking to secure pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
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