Antonelli's F1 hopes dashed
Kimi Antonelli's F1 rise halted by electrical failure, costing second place in Barcelona
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Kimi Antonelli was four laps from a second-place finish in Barcelona when his Mercedes went completely dead. The 19-year-old's car lost all power at the apex of Turn 5 on Lap 62 of 66, forcing him to coast to the barrier and retire AP.
The cruel exit ended Antonelli's five-race winning streak and handed Lewis Hamilton his first victory for Ferrari. Antonelli's championship lead was slashed from 59 points down to 41 RacingNews365.
Antonelli's Car Dies Just After Taking Second Place
The timing could not have been worse. Antonelli had just overtaken teammate George Russell for P2 at Turn 1 on Lap 61 F1.com. Seconds later, the Mercedes W17 shut down completely. He pulled over between Turns 5 and 6 and climbed out of the car.
Antonelli said the failure stunned him. "I feel a bit empty to be fair right now... All of a sudden, I was at the apex of Turn 5, and the car just gave up," he said AP. He added that repeated breakdowns were "a bit of a concern" given the team had suffered several issues already this season.
Hamilton Wins for Ferrari After a 40-Race Drought
Antonelli's exit cleared the way for Lewis Hamilton to win the Spanish Grand Prix for Ferrari. It was Hamilton's first win with the Prancing Horse and ended a 40-race winless streak. It also brought his career win total to 106 Proceso.
Hamilton called the win deeply personal. "I'm eternally grateful and hope this is the first of many victories," he said AP. George Russell finished second for Mercedes, benefiting from Antonelli's retirement. For the first time since 1968, three British drivers — Hamilton, Russell, and Lando Norris — stood on the podium together RacingNews365.
Mercedes Reliability Crisis Threatens Championship Lead
This was not a one-off problem. George Russell had already retired from the lead in Canada earlier this season due to similar battery issues. Engineers believe the Mercedes ERS — the system that recovers and stores electrical energy — is being pushed too close to its thermal limit Motorsport.com.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was blunt. "We just can't compete for a championship if every second race a car is losing fat points," he said. "To finish first, first you have to finish. That's just not good enough" Sky Sports F1. The team is expected to bring a reliability fix to the next race in Austria.
Penalty Adds Insult to Injury for the Young Italian
Antonelli's bad day got worse after the race. Stewards issued him a five-second time penalty for four track-limits violations, officially dropping him to 16th place in the final standings The Race. McLaren had flagged one of the violations that race control had initially missed.
Analysts at The Race noted that McLaren's move to report the infringement — even after Antonelli's car was already parked — shows how cutthroat the 2026 constructors' battle has become. Despite the disaster, Antonelli still leads the drivers' championship with 156 points. Hamilton is second on 115. Russell sits third on 106.
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