'P2 WAS THE MAXIMUM WE COULD HAVE ACHIEVED' – ANTONELLI

Kimi Antonelli stretched his championship lead to 84 points with second place in Malaysia, but the Mercedes driver left Sepang waving red flags about his team's form. The Italian nailed the start on intermediates, jumping Max Verstappen into Turn 1, but lost the position after the first Safety Car and couldn't reclaim it. "Today was the maximum we could have done," Antonelli said, praising Red Bull's dominant weekend while admitting Mercedes has been "struggling a bit more than usual."

The result would have been a 1-2 if not for George Russell's power unit failure on Lap 50—his second mechanical DNF of the season. Antonelli himself retired in Barcelona with PU trouble. That fragility is reshaping how the championship leader approaches race weekends. "Whenever I go on track, especially with things in my control, I need to make sure I do my best," he said. An 84-point cushion is comfortable until reliability turns it into a dice roll.