Antonelli 'confused' by Verstappen incident at Spanish GP: 'A bit awkward for him'
Photo: Race Pictures
07:01, 14 Sep
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Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Kimi Antonelli has admitted he was "confused" after Max Verstappen let him through on Lap 4 of the Spanish GP. The Dutchman had gone off track and ahead of Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap at the Madring, and was later ordered by Red Bull to give up his position.
Verstappen was forced to take avoiding action after Hamilton clipped the curb at Turn 1 at the brand new Spanish circuit. The Red Bull driver emerged ahead of the Ferrari driver, before then taking P2 from eventual race winner Antonelli later on in the lap.
Much to his fury, Verstappen was told to give Hamilton the position back, telling his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase: "Mate, what the f**k are you guys talking about? He would've shunted it. Like what are you guys talking about? If I just stay on the track, I am out of the race."
Eventually, Verstappen relented, but had to let both Antonelli and Hamilton through, thus dropping to P4. However, thanks to Hamilton's race-ending brake issues, the Dutchman almost immediately had a position back, and drove impressively to eventually take second in Madrid.
Antonelli: Verstappen confusion 'not the way I wanted to win'
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Photo: Race Pictures
Asked what he was thinking when Verstappen let him through, Antonelli told GPblog, and other media: "A bit confused because I didn't think he overtook me off track. He overtook me normally, so I was a bit confused in the first place.
"But then he told me that he had to give the position back to Lewis. So, you know, it was a bit awkward, especially for him because Lewis was also experiencing brake issues."
Adding to earlier comments in which he said McLaren's Lando Norris deserved the victory in Madrid - the world champion had been comfortably in the lead but suffered a slow stop after a poorly timed Virtual Safety Car on Lap 14 - Antonelli said the Verstappen incident only added to his disappointment over the manner of victory.
"So yeah, that's why I think today, the win as I said is great, but not the way I wanted to win," the world championship leader concluded.
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