Carlos Sainz has explained his version of events after he crashed into Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the opening stages of the 2025 United States Grand Prix. Describing it as a small mistake with major consequences, the Williams ace retired after making contact on the seventh lap of his Austin campaign.
Lunging up the inside of the young Italian at Turn 15, Sainz was forced to come to a stop, retiring his car from the US Grand Prix and triggering a virtual safety car. Antonelli managed to continue with minor damage. The incident was sent to the stewards and will be discussed following the race.
“I think he started closing the door earlier than I expected and I ultimately locked up and got a bit scared by him closing on me and yeah, we collided,” Sainz explained. “I think the incident looks a lot more bad than what it actually is because in the end it’s just a small lock-up with high consequences, but a pity because we’re coming on a good weekend.”
Asked whether a seventh place was possible this weekend after a strong sprint race where he finished third, Sainz believed there was an opportunity despite passing being difficult at COTA.
“Yeah, I think so. I think George looked to be struggling in front of Kimi. Kimi seemed to be struggling today, I think it was the day that we could have got points.
“It looked like it was tough to overtake out there and you either do it on the infield or something because it definitely looked like it was difficult to pass.”
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
He continued, adding that the move was worthy of the risk.
“You can always play it safe, no? And bring home the P8 and wonder… Then you always go for a move. Sometimes it works perfectly and it goes smooth.
“With Kimi, he was a bit more aggressive, a bit more closing the door, and it was more difficult to get them moved down and then you go home with zero, so this sport is just a very fine balance between just playing it safe, bring home P8 or risking it a bit more to try and bring home the P7 or the P6 and today it didn’t quite work.”
He added: “I think the incident looks a lot worse with Kimi than what it is. I think he starts turning in on me and when I see him turning in, that’s when I lock-up because I realise he’s not seen me or we’re about to crash anyway because he’s closing.
“I know it looks bad from the outside in terms of the lock-up and the contact, but honestly speaking, with these wide apexes that we have here, we both need to be aware of the racing, and I think in this case we both didn’t do a good job.”
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