‘Put him in the wall’ – Kimi Antonelli on receiving end of brutal comment from F1 rival

Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli was threatened by Sauber F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto in an X-rated and unseen radio message during Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix

An un-televised radio message has uncovered the shocking moment Gabriel Bortoleto commented about putting Kimi Antonelli “in the wall” after their Monaco Grand Prix flashpoint. The Formula One rookies were involved in a first-lap incident at Monte Carlo which resulted in Sauber’s Bortoleto crashing into the barrier at Portier.

Mercedes’ Antonelli was on a mission to make amends for a qualifying mistake that left him starting 15th on the grid. He lost a position to Bortoleto in the first lap thanks to a slick manoeuvre by the Brazilian at the hairpin.

Antonelli, just moments later, sought to take the position back with an ambitious move down Bortoleto’s inside at the tricky right hander. Although they avoided contact, Bortoleto was squeezed out and went straight into the wall.

Bortoleto had to pit for a new wing while Antonelli managed to escape a penalty from the stewards. The incident left Bortoleto fuming over his former F2 rival’s aggressive driving, even stating that he’d give Antonelli a taste of his own medicine next time he came across the Italian on the track.

A radio message emerged in the aftermath of the race where Sauber’s race engineer could be heard telling Bortoleto to reverse after his collision. The Brazilian vented: “Kimi pushed me off! Is the car OK?” as his engineer responded: “Our front wing is damaged, front wing is damaged. We are boxing to change the front wing. And we saw what happened.”

Bortoleto continued: “F*** it. Antonelli, man! Desperated [sic] kid!” Later, after he had recovered, Bortoleto closed in on Antonelli and asked: “I think we are catching Antonelli here. Did he get a penalty for what he did?”

The Sauber engineer replied: “So, Gabi, we are all on the same train and he did not get a penalty. He did not get a penalty,” before Bortoleto threatened: “OK. I will put him in the wall next time.”

Despite having to make three pit stops, Bortoleto managed a 14th place finish. Meanwhile, Antonelli recorded his worst F1 result, finishing in 18th place.

Bortoleto didn’t hold back when airing his feelings about Antonelli after the race, saying: “It’s a shame what happened there on the first lap, I think I managed to make a very solid move in Turn 6 in the hairpin, so it was very nice around the outside and I gained a position.

“Obviously, he doesn’t want to see any car ahead of him, losing a position in Monaco is quite embarrassing, it’s bad because normally, historically you don’t lose position but you don’t gain as well.

“And I think he tried a very optimistic move there. We have seen a lot of crashes there in the past, it’s not the first time. He didn’t touch me, but he just went straight and to avoid crashing into him, I crashed into the wall and destroyed my front wing, needed to reverse, go back to the pits and unfortunately that’s how my race ended up.”

Antonelli, however, defended his decision to pass Bortoleto at a section of the track where overtaking is notably difficult, claiming he was ahead of the Sauber at the apex of the corner.

He said: “It was an aggressive move but at the end of the day, I didn’t touch him. And also at the apex, I was ahead.

“Of course, you don’t want to see him in the wall and my intention was not to put him in the wall. But at the end of the day, I didn’t touch him and I tried my best to give him as much space as possible. But, of course, you know, Monaco is very tight and it can happen.”

Bortoleto won F2 while driving for Invicta Racing last year but the 20-year-old is currently joint bottom of the F1 drivers’ standings, having failed to earn a single point since joining the Audi-owned Sauber team.

Antonelli, meanwhile, has racked up 48 points after stepping into Lewis Hamilton’s shoes at the Silver Arrows.