Bortoleto clarifies comment about putting Antonelli in the wall

BARCELONA - Saubers Gabriel Bortoleto said a team radio clip of him apparently threatening to put Mercedes rival Kimi Antonelli in the wall at last Sundays Monaco Grand Prix was edited and gave a false impression.

The Brazilian was speaking to his race engineer after a first lap battle between the rookies ended with Bortoleto hitting the tyre wall at Portier, before the tunnel, as Antonelli went through on the inside.

The stewards decided to take no further action over the incident.

Obviously, people take parts of something and they clip it and it’s not like this, Bortoleto said at the Spanish Grand Prix on Thursday.

I spoke to Kimi after the race. We have, I believe, respect (for) each other since we were 10, 11 years old when we were racing in go-karts together.

People clipped it (the radio chat) but actually I asked my engineer What happened, did he get a penalty for that? and then he said No, no penalty for what happened there.

So I was like OK, so basically if I do the same I put him in the wall and then it doesn’t get (me) a penalty for that?. But (they) took it in a way that it looks like I’m going to smash the guy in the wall. But we are not here to hurt anyone.

Bortoleto has yet to score a point in eight races with Sauber while Italian Antonelli, 18, has made an impressive debut with Mercedes since taking the seat vacated by seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton. REUTERS

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