Motor racing-F1 leader Antonelli calls Azerbaijan weekend the worst of his season赛车运动——F1领跑者安东内利称阿塞拜疆周末的比赛是他本赛季最糟糕的一次。
BAKU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend the worst of his season after recovering to finish fifth in Saturday's race following a costly qualifying crash that left him starting 16th on the grid.
Formula One F1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan - September 26, 2026 Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli arrives ahead of the race REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov
BAKU, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend the worst of his season after recovering to finish fifth in Saturday’s race following a costly qualifying crash that left him starting 16th on the grid.
A troubled weekend for Antonelli, that began with a hydraulics problem in Thursday practice, put a blot on an otherwise flawless season for the 20-year-old Italian.
It coincided with a dominant weekend for Mercedes teammate George Russell who took his third win of the season and narrowed the gap at the top of the standings from 81 to 66 points.
“Obviously, it was the worst weekend by far of the season,” said Antonelli, winner of eight races this year, who went into the Azerbaijan weekend gunning for a third successive triumph.
“I felt always a step behind and especially with the mistake in qualifying, the confidence level was not high.”
Antonelli’s drive on Saturday could not have been more different than his 19th-to-first charge through the field in his home Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
His Baku comeback was instead more of a slow-burn recovery.
Antonelli, who was hobbled by contact with a Haas car, said he had driven a race of damage limitation.
He would bounce back next weekend in Malaysia, he added.
“I think this weekend taught me a lot,” said Antonelli, who is on course to become the first Italian to win the Formula One title since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
“I think in many occasions this weekend… I don’t know, probably also with the mindset, I was not in the best pace.
“I’ll just make sure that next weekend we get back at the right level.”
(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Baku; editing by Clare Fallon)
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一级方程式F1 - 阿塞拜疆大奖赛 - 巴库城市赛道，巴库，阿塞拜疆 - 2026年9月26日 梅赛德斯车队的基米·安东内利在赛前抵达 路透社/拉米尔·西特迪科夫
巴库，9 月 26 日（路透社）——一级方程式锦标赛领头羊基米·安东内利称阿塞拜疆大奖赛周末是他本赛季最糟糕的一次。此前，他在排位赛中遭遇严重撞车事故，导致他从第 16 位发车，但他在周六的比赛中奋起直追，最终获得第五名。
对于安东内利来说，这是一个多事之秋的周末。周四的练习赛中，他的赛车液压系统出现问题，这给这位 20 岁的意大利车手原本近乎完美的赛季蒙上了一层阴影。
与此同时，梅赛德斯车队的队友乔治·拉塞尔也迎来了一个强势的周末，他赢得了本赛季的第三场胜利，并将积分榜榜首的差距从 81 分缩小到 66 分。
“显然，这是本赛季迄今为止最糟糕的一个周末，”安东内利说道。他今年赢得了八场比赛，原本希望在阿塞拜疆的这个周末取得三连胜。
“我感觉自己总是慢人一步，尤其是在排位赛中犯错之后，我的自信心更是低迷。”
安东内利周六的比赛表现与他本月早些时候在家乡意大利大奖赛上从第 19 位一路追赶到第一位的表现截然不同。
相反，他在巴库的复出更像是一个缓慢的复苏过程。
安东内利在与哈斯赛车发生碰撞后行动不便，他说他一直在尽力减少损失。
他补充说，下周末他将在马来西亚重返赛场。
“我认为这个周末让我学到了很多，”安东内利说道，他有望成为自 1953 年阿尔贝托·阿斯卡里以来首位赢得一级方程式锦标赛冠军的意大利人。
“我觉得这个周末很多时候……我不知道，可能也跟心态有关，我的节奏不是最好的。”
“我只想确保下周末我们能恢复到应有的水平。”
（阿比舍克·塔克勒在巴库报道；克莱尔·法伦编辑）
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