Carlos Sainz has praised Kimi Antonelli for his spontaneous apology after labeling him an ‘idiot’ during the first practice session of the Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 1.
During the session at Spa-Francorchamps, Antonelli felt frustrated when he found Sainz moving slowly at Stavelot. At that moment, the Mercedes driver expressed his discontent both on the radio and during the race: ‘Sainz, what an idiot!’.
Despite the initial tension, Antonelli decided to apologize to Sainz when they crossed paths on Saturday morning. Sainz shared his experience after qualifying: ‘We met in the elevator and talked. He is a nice guy. He told me it was a heat-of-the-moment thing, that he had seen the replay, and that it really hadn’t affected him much’.
Sainz positively evaluated his reaction: ‘When someone comes up like that and tells you to your face immediately, for me it’s a sign of quality. I can only thank him and wish him the best’.
While Antonelli will start the race from the pole, Sainz will do so from 15th position, as he will occupy a higher spot due to a penalty for Isack Hadjar.
Furthermore, Sainz indicated that he had a difficult weekend, with a technical problem that cost him ‘three to five tenths’ per lap during practice, although it was resolved before qualifying. ‘I’m glad we found the problem, but I’m not that satisfied that we can’t explain what happened well. We need to keep investigating’.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
