The disagreement between Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar was resolved before the start of the 2026 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, following an incident in Saturday’s (14) sprint race in Shanghai.
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Antonelli explained in the post-race press conference, after achieving his first Formula 1 victory: “Yes, I talked today at the drivers’ parade and everything is resolved. Yesterday was definitely my mistake because I touched him, it wasn’t on purpose, and I ruined his race. So, I took my responsibility and went to apologize. He was in the heat of the moment.”
The incident occurred when Antonelli, after a poor start, touched Hadjar’s car at Turn 6, causing damage. The stewards applied a 10-second penalty to the Mercedes driver during the sprint, and Hadjar did not take the apology well, refusing it while still in the cockpit of his RB22.
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In an interview with Canal+ on Saturday, the Frenchman from Red Bull commented: “I don’t understand why he is so worked up when he has a rocket and is going to recover positions anyway… Well, these things happen.” Antonelli, however, stated that after a night’s sleep, everything was already resolved.
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