Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive Formula 1 victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, crossing the line more than 13 seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, yet the young Mercedes driver was left seething at his own performance off the starting grid.
The Italian's W17 was sluggish when the lights went out at Suzuka, with rivals quickly swarming past him as he tumbled from a strong qualifying position down to sixth place.
Despite the commanding margin of his eventual triumph, Antonelli made clear his frustration at the error that nearly cost him dearly.
"I cannot say but I was very mad," he admitted in the post-race press conference.
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Antonelli provided a detailed breakdown of what went wrong at the crucial moment.
He explained that he released the clutch deeper than intended, which proved catastrophic when combined with tyres that had not reached optimal temperature.
"Just when I think I dropped the clutch a bit, you know, too deep, deeper than what I should have and obviously the tyres were also a bit colder," he said.
Kimi Antonelli celebrates his triumph at the Japanese Grand Prix
|GETTY
"So obviously I went beyond the grip that was available and just lost a lot of places."
The Mercedes bogged down as a result, with the available traction insufficient for the aggressive clutch release, leaving Antonelli surrounded by cars that had been behind him moments earlier.
The race appeared to be slipping away from Antonelli as he battled through the field, finding overtaking particularly challenging due to differing energy deployment strategies with the cars ahead.
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This intervention proved pivotal for the Mercedes driver, enabling him to make his pit stop without surrendering track position.
Once the race resumed with Antonelli back at the front, the Italian's superior pace became evident as he pulled clear of the chasing pack with apparent ease.
Without the Safety Car's timely appearance, Antonelli conceded the outcome would have been far less certain.
Reflecting on his victory at the iconic Suzuka circuit, Antonelli expressed mixed emotions about his performance.
Kimi Antonelli has enjoyed a strong start to the new F1 season
|GETTY
"It's nice to be back, you know, on the top step," he said.
"Obviously a very special win, a very special track but, you know, on one side I'm very happy but on the other side I'm a bit disappointed with how the start went."
The Mercedes youngster acknowledged that his race starts require significant improvement, describing them as "definitely not good enough" and admitting he is making his own life considerably harder.
"So definitely a lot of work to do still but I was very lucky, of course, with how the safety car, you know, with the timing of the safety car," Antonelli added.