Kimi Antonelli has revealed he is still carrying a lingering injury from his seismic crash at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Italian suffered a high-speed shunt on the exit of Turn 2 at Albert Park earlier this month during the final practice session of the weekend.
The crash threatened to keep him out of qualifying. However, he managed to get a lap in at the end of Q1 before going on to qualify in second place.
Antonelli, though, is still feeling the effects of the crash and turned up in Japan with a brace on his hand.
When asked about the device, Antonelli told the media, including RacingNews365: “It [is from] when I crashed in FP3 in Australia.
“Nothing bad, I can still drive. That’s the most important thing. I did a scan, there’s nothing broken, just ligament strain.
“But I just need to wear this to help it heal. But when I drive, I’m okay to drive without it, so it’s nothing to worry about.”
Antonelli ended the race in Australia in second place before claiming his maiden grand prix win at the following round in China.
When it was pointed out to him that he won the next race after the crash, Antonelli joked: “Exactly! Maybe I’ll keep it the whole year.”