Lewis Hamilton has thrown in the towel on a record eighth title after he said Kimi Antonelli cannot be stopped from winning the world championship.
Hamilton retired from Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix with a brake failure at the end of the sixth lap to leave him 101 points behind Antonelli – the equivalent of more than four victories – with nine scheduled rounds to go.
“There’s no stopping him and Mercedes this year,” said Ferrari driver Hamilton of the 20-year-old who replaced him at the Silver Arrows. “They’ve done a phenomenal job and they deserve it (the championship).”
Hamilton started fourth and was briefly up to third following an opening-corner clash with his one-time rival Max Verstappen.
Verstappen accused Hamilton of arriving for the chicane “out of control” and said he was forced to take the escape road to avoid a collision with the Ferrari driver.
Despite his protests, Verstappen was told by Red Bull to surrender the place to Hamilton to avoid a probable penalty from the stewards. That meant Verstappen had to allow Antonelli, ahead of Hamilton on the road through, too.
Hamilton’s retirement – the 41-year-old’s first of the season – left Verstappen behind Antonelli.
“He can give me the position now,” the Dutchman said on the radio. “F****** bull****. F****** mickey-mouse racing.”
Verstappen, who finished runner-up to Antonelli, said: “I would have had damage at the start if I stayed on the track.
“I just did my own thing in turn 1, but Lewis went for a move, bottomed out on the kerb and just jumped back onto the track, and that’s why I had to go off the road.
“If I would have stayed there, I would definitely have had damage and my race could have been over.”
Responding to Verstappen’s comments, Hamilton said: “I didn’t see Max. I thought it was pretty good racing to be honest. Nothing to do with me here.”
Antonelli’s eighth win of the season allowed him to extend his lead from 66 points to 81 over Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
The British driver finished only fifth and then followed Hamilton in proclaiming the title race as good as over.
“I’m not going to say it is over but it’s exceptionally unlikely that I’m in this fight,” he said.
“It allows me to focus race-by-race and try and win as many races as possible and what will be, will be.”
Read MoreAntonelli oozes composure with another F1 win as Madrid fails to fire on debut
I deserved more – Lando Norris calls for F1 rule change after Spanish Grand Prix
Norris fires back after being told he can’t drink Coca-Cola: ‘I just did a race’
