Kimi Antonelli details extent of car damage after Charles Leclerc clash

Kimi Antonelli has revealed he was carrying damage for most of the São Paulo Grand Prix after his early-race clash with Charles Leclerc.

Antonelli was under pressure following a safety car restart and was placed in the middle of three drivers entering Turn 1 side-by-side.

The Italian made contact with Oscar Piastri on his inside and was flung into Charles Leclerc on his outside, resulting in the latter's retirement from the grand prix.

Antonelli explained he was caught out by a wet patch of Tarmac at the restart, which resulted in being swamped into the opening corner.

“Well, first of all, the restart, I accelerated a little bit on the wet patch, so I got wheelspin and lost momentum going into Turn 1,” Antonelli told media including RacingNews365.

“But to be fair, I found myself in a very difficult position because I had one car on the outside and one car on the inside. 

“I tried to brake late, not too late. The problem is I didn't see the car next to me anymore. I still tried to do a decent line for the position I was in, ended up getting hit.”

Antonelli was able to continue in the grand prix and crossed the line in second place, marking a career-best result for the rookie.

However, the 19-year-old stated his steering alignment was not correct for the rest of the grand prix after his Turn 1 collision.

“I was lucky to come away like that, because obviously I hit Charles quite hard,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I ended his race, but on my side, I was lucky to come away with not such a big damage. 

“I had minor damage on the car. I think the steering wheel was not fully straight, but I was very lucky to come away with it and to be able to continue my race.”