Kimi Antonelli perplexed by 'weird' Mercedes moment

Kimi Antonelli was at a loss to explain his "weird" spin during sprint qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver was eliminated during SQ1 at Spa-Francorchamps after his incident at Stavelot left his tyres flat-spotted.

With drivers permitted to use only one set of tyres during each sprint qualifying section, the 18-year-old was consigned to his fate following his 360-degree spin. He will start the one-third distance race from P20 and last. 

Reflecting on the hair-raising moment, Antonelli explained how he was on a "pretty decent lap" until that point, estimating it would have been enough to put him inside the top five.

"I don't know, it was actually a pretty decent lap," the young Italian said. "I was around P4, and yeah, it just was weird, because I lost it completely on exit.

Unable to explain the cause of the pirouette, the one-time podium finisher suggested it could have been wind that destabilised his W16. 

"Just need to check, maybe a gust of wind," Antonelli added. "But it was quite weird the way I lost the car."

The F1 rookie has endured a difficult spell following a strong start to life alongside George Russell at the Brackley-based team.

Having scored points in five of the opening six grands prix of the season, his campaign has taken a downward turn.

Aside from his impressive trip to the rostrum in Montreal, Antonelli has not scored a single point over the past six rounds, although two of his four retirements in that span have been due to reliability issues.

In need of a better weekend, it was a disappointing start to the round in Belgium.

Nonetheless, the teenager maintains he is "definitely confident" about the sprint, insisting the car is in a good place.

"Yeah, I mean the car felt good over the lap, so definitely confident for tomorrow," he explained. "And, yeah, we'll just try to reset and look forward to tomorrow."