Kimi Antonelli has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the British Grand Prix following his opening lap crash with Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring. The Mercedes starlet locked his rear tyres on the entrance to Turn Three, tagging the reigning world champion into a spin with heavy contact.
The Italian teenager was fortunate to avoid collecting Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto, who were squabbling ahead, but by taking avoiding action, he set himself on a collision course with Verstappen, who was scrapping for fifth place ahead. After the Grand Prix, the stewards investigated the crash and came to a swift conclusion. Antonelli will now carry a three-place grid penalty into the British GP next weekend, and the 18-year-old has also picked up two penalty points for his troubles.
“The Stewards determine that, although the incident happened in Lap One, no other cars influenced the incident and the driver of Car 12 is fully at fault,” the FIA’s report explained. “Therefore the more lenient approach to judging Lap 1 incidents has not been applied in this case.
“However, they also acknowledge that the incident was not a blatant attempt to dive into the corner but rather a result of the evasive action after locking up. As the driver was not able to continue the race a grid drop for the next race is applied.”
When Antonelli was asked about the crash, he took immediate responsibility. “Just feel super sorry to the team, and to Max of course, because obviously he was just a passenger,” he told Sky Sports F1.
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“Of course, it’s a big mistake. Now we need to move forward and focus on Silverstone. We’ll see if we get a penalty or not, but it’s going to be important to get back and start doing like I did in Canada.”
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