Kimi Antonelli Faces Setback in Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying

Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, encountered difficulties during the Dutch Grand Prix's sprint qualifying session, going off into the gravel at Turn 13 on his first flying lap.

Despite initially running faster than his teammate George Russell, Antonelli lost control due to oversteer, which resulted in him qualifying fifth for the race. He managed to rejoin the track but finished eighth in the first phase of qualifying, nearly 0.7 seconds behind Charles Leclerc's time.

Although he recovered to secure fifth place in the final qualifying phase, Antonelli acknowledged that the incident cost him approximately 25 points of downforce, which could translate to a half-second time loss. Mercedes chief Toto Wolff estimated the loss to be around 20 points. Antonelli will start the sprint race from the third row and aims to improve in the upcoming full qualifying session.