Kimi Antonelli voices anger after 'no warning' race-deciding F1 spin

Kimi Antonelli has voiced his anger at his performance in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after spinning out of the lead ahead of a potential win.

From second on the grid, Antonelli jumped pole-sitter Lando Norris at Turn 1 to lead through the first stint on the intermediate tyres, with Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz triggering the change to slicks on Lap 15.

Norris pitted next time by on Lap 16, with Antonelli staying out, but as Norris had far warmer soft tyres, he was able to wipe out the gap to the new world champion and mount a challenge for the lead on Lap 19.

On Lap 20, under braking for Turn 1, Antonelli lost the rear of the Mercedes and spun into the run-off, handing Norris a lead he would not lose, with the Italian then complaining about an issue aboard his W17 after a further off at Turn 1 on Lap 24, although engineer Peter Bonnington signalled there was no issue and told his driver to "refocus."

Antonelli eventually crossed the line in fifth place in his first race as drivers' champion, as his team took the constructors' title for the ninth time.

However, post-race, Antonelli signalled his "anger" at his performance, and explained that there was "no warning" the spin was coming at the start of his third lap on the slick tyres when temperatures should have started to build. 

"I am very disappointed with the race, and I am very angry, to be fair, but I am going to put this aside for now, because the team clinched the title - and they deserve it," Antonelli reflected to media, including RacingNews365, when asked if it was bittersweet to lose the win as Mercedes took the title. 

"But talking about the race, it is very disappointing as we were going for the win and once I was able to get some temperature [in the slicks], I was getting into the rhythm.

"But the spin came, which is something I need to look at because I don't know why I lost the rear so quickly; there was no warning, nothing. 

"But to be fair, when I put the soft on, I felt something weird with the car, so we need to check what happened, but it is a shame as we lost the race there."

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Antonelli on Sao Paulo GP

When then asked further about losing out on the win in Brazil, Antonelli signalled his desire to conquer Interlagos in 2027.

"I really wanted to win in Brazil in front of this amazing crowd, and it would have been cool to finish with a win, but it is a shame that I missed out, and hopefully, next year, we'll come back stronger and able to win it."