Follow us on Google Discover Carlos Sainz was the only non-finisher at the United States Grand Prix after he collided with Kimi Antonelli.
The Williams and Mercedes drivers’ crash was the only contact between cars at the United States Grand Prix. The race was mostly a procession as Max Verstappen dominated for victory from pole position.
The Dutchman claimed the win in the Sprint on Saturday, while Sainz finished a stunning P3. He managed to navigate the first-lap chaos after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri crashed out at the first corner.
Sainz looked to continue the momentum into Sunday’s race by qualifying P9. He found his way past Oliver Bearman at turn 16, but he could not replicate the move against Antonelli on lap six.
Photo by Clive Mason/Getty ImagesF1 fans blame Carlos Sainz for ‘stupid’ crash with Kimi Antonelli at the United States Grand Prix
The Spaniard tried to dive down the inside of the Italian, but hit the back of Antonelli and sent him into a spin. Sainz was left with a puncture and front wing damage, which ultimately forced him to retire.
Antonelli continued and went on to finish an unlucky 13th. A points finish was definitely on the cards for the 19-year-old, had it not been for his incident with Sainz, with many fans pinning the blame on the Williams driver on X (formerly Twitter).
“Sainz 100% at fault,” said one fan. Another echoed: “ALL of Sainz’s fault. Second Dive Bomb that he throws himself into, without reason.”
“Carlos did not live up to what he did yesterday,” wrote one user. Another said: “Damn sucks for Carlos but I feel like that was his fault.”
“What is Sainz doing man? Antonelli must be fuming,” wrote another disgruntled fan. Finally, one added: “Sainz didn’t understand that the front car was turning on a corner that requires the front car to turn. Stupid.”
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Photo by Clive Rose – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty ImagesCarlos Sainz accuses Kimi Antonelli of being too ‘aggressive’ before United States Grand Prix crash
Speaking in the media pen after the race via Sky Sports F1 (19/10, 10:34 pm), Sainz felt that Antonelli was too ‘aggressive’ with his defence into turn 16.
“Yeah, I was coming quick after having done a very good move on Ollie two laps before, exactly the same corner, exactly the same pass,” he said.
“With Ollie, it worked perfectly, with Kimi, I think he was being a bit more aggressive on the defence, started closing in on me quite aggressively.
“And when I saw we were about to crash, because he was closing the angle, hit the brakes harder, locked up and that’s what created the crash.
“In the end, I know that from the outside it looks like a clear mistake from my side. From the inside, having done that move the previous lap, or two laps before. Yes, I could have avoided the lock-up, but it felt a bit more aggressive from Kimi than from Ollie.”