Kimi Antonelli admits to confidence knock after huge car damage

Kimi Antonelli has revealed he was carrying significant damage after running through the gravel trap early on during sprint qualifying at Zandvoort.

On one of his first tours of the circuit on Friday afternoon, the championship leader lost control of his car through the penultimate corner.

Antonelli was able to recover and get through to the next phase of sprint qualifying, albeit with significant car damage.

“I had a couple of holes in the floor,” Antonelli said after the session. 

“When I came in, they initially said it was a loss of 25 points [of downforce]. 

“They tried to repair as much as possible, but definitely the damage was still there. I was struggling a lot in the low speed, but it is what it is.

“A little bit too much entry speed in the last corner in that lap one, and lost the rear and went through the gravel. That was pretty much it.”

Antonelli progressed to the top 10 shootout but was largely a non-factor in the battle for pole position.

His team-mate George Russell bagged the fastest lap while Antonelli was forced to settle for fifth place, two-tenths down on the fastest time.

The Italian admitted that the damaged car had an impact on his trust behind the wheel, stating: “Then obviously, it was also not easy to build the confidence back.

“Still decently close, and we'll have another go tomorrow.”