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Mercedes Formula 1 rookie Kimi Antonelli will have a three-place grid penalty for next weekend’s British Grand Prix as punishment for taking Max Verstappen out of the Austrian GP on lap one.
Antonelli slewed into Verstappen at the Turn 3 hairpin having locked up on the way into the corner, an incident that Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told Antonelli afterwards in the garage "wasn't great".
The stewards accepted that the “incident was not a blatant attempt to dive into the corner but rather a result of the evasive action after locking up”, but as Antonelli was “fully at fault” they decided against taking the more lenient approach to first-lap incidents that the rules allow and applied the grid penalty plus the first two penalty points of Antonelli’s F1 career.
Antonelli jinked around Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls as he started to lose control of his Mercedes but then couldn’t avoid clattering into Verstappen’s Red Bull mid-corner.
“It was very unfortunate,” said Antonelli. “Probably I should have just changed the brake setting going into Turn 3.
“I was just trying to maintain position and when I hit the brake I locked the rear completely and I just lost the car.
"And I was about to hit Lawson because I lost a lot of deceleration and then I had to avoid Lawson and when I reapplied the brake I locked the front left.”
Antonelli apologised to Verstappen immediately afterwards but admitted he couldn’t actually hear the world champion’s response and wanted to seek him out again in the paddock.
Verstappen took a relaxed and understanding approach to the rookie’s error and its consequences - though his initial radio reaction had been a reference to “f***ing idiots” and getting “crazy hit”.
“I just asked him what happened because he was the only car that was there with me, with his wheel hanging off, so I was pretty sure that he hit me,” said Verstappen when asked what his unheard comment to Antonelli had been.
“Then of course I saw the footage when I came back. It happens, every driver has made a mistake like that in their careers and Kimi is a very big talent so he’ll learn from that and that’s all fine."
