Leclerc admits to being 'harsh' towards Antonelli over driving style

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/antonelli-andrea-kimi/ptGu0mT1/"]Antonelli[/a] finished fourth for Mercedes but ‌collected a five-second penalty and was demoted to ‌sixth for repeatedly exceeding track limits.[/p][p][b]"Kimi is so bad ‌on wheel-to-wheel (racing). He moved under braking. It's unbelievable. We ‌are going to crash," [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leclerc-charles/KlCOSRub/"]Leclerc[/a], who finished third, exclaimed over the radio at one point.[/b][/p][p]Speaking later, the Monegasque toned down ‌his comments.[/p][p][b]"I was being a bit harsh ⁠maybe with the adrenaline ‌inside the car," he said.[/b][/p][p][b]"It's true that we've had our ​moments with Kimi in the past and I hope this calms down a little bit going ​ahead. Especially as he's the only Italian on the grid against Ferrari.[/b][/p][p][b]"I wish it was with someone else. ⁠I really like ​Kimi as a person," added Leclerc. "It's just sometimes a little bit too close for comfort and not really needed as well. So in this particular case, I was ‌quite angry in the car. But the comments were probably a bit too harsh."[/b][/p][embed guid="baac0fbe-a759-448e-ae49-4972ded55dbe" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2050608405660815538" social-type="twitter" /][p]Antonelli is the youngest championship leader in Formula One history and also the first Italian to win two races in a row since Alberto Ascari in 1953, an achievement that has ramped up expectations in Italy where Ferrari are also idolised.[/p][p]The Italian made a poor start on Saturday, dropping ‌from second to fourth, and struggled with low grip.[/p][p][b]“After ​that, I was really frustrated and didn’t even drive ‌well. I did a lot of mistakes and got track limits, which is something I need to avoid," he said.[/b][/p][p][b]“This weekend has been more difficult but it was expected with everyone bringing big ⁠upgrades. We just need ⁠to maximise the result ‌and now focus on qualifying.”[/b][/p]