Kimi Antonelli explains 'mistake' that handed Lando Norris key title points

Kimi Antonelli has explained what occurred when he slipped off the track late on during the Qatar Grand Prix, handing crucial points to Lando Norris in the title fight.

Norris was running in fifth place as the race entered its final stages, but was putting pressure on Antonelli after making a late second pit stop.

On the penultimate lap, Norris moved ahead of the Italian driver to gain a further two points, which could prove crucial as he enters the season finale in Abu Dhabi 12 points ahead of Max Verstappen.

Antonelli appeared to be comfortably holding Norris at bay during the previous handful of laps, but explained he was caught out by an unsuspecting loss of rear grip.

“With the hard I was pushing quite a lot, and eventually I was getting into DRS [range of Carlos Sainz],” Antonelli told media including RacingNews365.

“But in Turn 9, I had a massive moment and almost crashed. I went off-track and lost the place to Lando, which was very annoying.

“I went in a bit quicker than the lap before. Obviously, with dirty air, the car is more unpredictable, because you have less downforce and the tyres overheat more.

“I went in a bit quicker and just lost the rear all of a sudden. I didn't expect it.”

Antonelli lost several more seconds across the final lap as he explained he continued to struggle for grip after picking up the debris that was deposited off the racing line.

“At such a high speed, I went off track, and then the next corner, with picking up all the dirt, I had a massive moment again and went off track again,” he said.

“I just need to look into details, but it was really annoying.

“I was pretty comfortable, because it was even out of DRS for a couple of laps. But yeah, just did a mistake.”