Source:REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki
[Saba Sports News] The Chinese Grand Prix concluded with Andrea Kimi Antonelli making F1 history as the youngest-ever pole-sitter at 19 years, 6 months and 18 days, breaking the record previously held by Sebastian Vettel. In the race, Antonelli went on to beat George Russell by five seconds to take the victory. After the race, details about the event began to emerge. It turned out that, late in the race, team CEO Toto Wolff had publicly criticized Antonelli over the radio, telling the young driver to stop doing unnecessary maneuvers and to focus on securing the win. With three laps remaining, Antonelli locked up at Turn 1 and ran off track, instantly shrinking his lead. Wolff revealed that this is an old habit of Antonelli’s — he was trying to set the fastest lap late in the race. But in that situation there was no need for such theatrics; he just needed to bring the car safely home.
The editor believes fastest-lap attempts are usually done in non-critical laps, often mid-race or when there is no competitive pressure, and rarely risked in the final laps — especially when a lead is already established. Antonelli’s move at that moment was clearly overly aggressive.