Kimi Antonelli apologised to George Russell over the Mercedes radio after his team-mate retired from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Brit had to pull over to the side of the track at Sepang after his car sustained a power unit failure and could not complete the race.
Antonelli's P2 and Championship Lead
Antonelli finished second behind Max Verstappen and now leads the drivers' championship by 84 points from Russell, with 183 remaining. Lewis Hamilton, who completed the podium, is now just 22 points behind his fellow Briton and the gap to Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris and Verstappen just three points adrift of him.
Radio Exchange and Post-Race Comments
Over the team radio, Antonelli's senior race engineer, Peter 'Bono' Bonnington, said: "Well done, Kimi, P2 mate, we didn't have the fastest car today, but well done to get that." The Italian replied: "Yeah, thank you guys, it was difficult today, congrats to Max, and sorry for George". Bono added: "Yeah, a real kick in the guts for George and the team". Antonelli signed off by saying: "Let's keep pushing, we go again in Singapore," to which his engineer responded: "Affirm Kimi".
Speaking after the race, the championship leader said: "Today was the maximum we could have done. Massive congrats to Max and Red Bull for the incredible weekend. On our side, a lot of work to do. We have been struggling more than usual but I'm still happy to come away with P2."
