Antonelli receives grid penalty for Hungarian GP after yellow flag breach
Kimi Antonelli has been issued a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix following a rule infraction during Saturday’s Qualifying session. This penalty places him seventh on the starting grid for Sunday’s race. The championship leader’s penalty follows a separate three-place grid drop for Lewis Hamilton, who was penalised for impeding another driver.
The penalty for Antonelli stems from an investigation into his conduct during Q3, where he was found not to have slowed sufficiently for yellow flags. These flags were deployed after Max Verstappen spun. The stewards determined that Antonelli breached Appendix H, Article 2.5.5 b) of the International Sporting Code and B1.8.4a of the FIA F1 Regulations.
Details of the Infraction
During the post-Qualifying investigation, stewards reviewed available evidence, including telemetry data. Antonelli stated that upon seeing the yellow flag and light panel, he lifted off the throttle earlier than on his previous push lap. Telemetry data verified this action.
However, the stewards noted that the reduction in speed was brief. The car’s speed when passing the incident site involving Verstappen’s car was slightly higher than during his previous push lap. The mini sector time was only 0.03 seconds slower than his best time for that mini sector. While he was 14 km/h slower entering the yellow flag sector due to lifting 16 metres earlier, he was 3 km/h faster when passing the incident site because of less brake application into the corner.
FIA representatives observed that the speed reduction in the mini sector was less than 1%. The stewards concluded that this incident differed from others where no further action was taken, as there was no significant speed difference through the mini sector compared to the driver’s previous fastest time under similar conditions.
The recommended penalty for this type of offence, according to penalty guidelines, is a five-grid position drop. However, the stewards applied a lower penalty, considering that Antonelli did reduce his speed, albeit insufficiently and unsustained. They also noted that the driver had limited time and distance to react to the situation.
Impact on Starting Grid
Antonelli had initially qualified fourth fastest. He would have provisionally moved up the grid due to Lewis Hamilton’s three-place penalty for impeding McLaren driver Oscar Piastri at the end of Q3. However, with his own three-place penalty, Antonelli will now start from P7.
This penalty adds to the challenge for Antonelli as he aims to extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings. In a separate incident during Qualifying, Antonelli also received a warning from the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly on an in-lap.
The revised starting grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix sees Lando Norris (McLaren) in pole position, followed by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren). Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will start fourth, with Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) in fifth and George Russell (Mercedes) in sixth. Antonelli (Mercedes) will start seventh.
The full starting grid after penalties is as follows:
- 1 Lando Norris (McLaren)
- 2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- 3 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- 4 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- 5 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- 6 George Russell (Mercedes)
- 7 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 8 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
- 9 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
- 10 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
- 11 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- 12 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- 13 Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- 14 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
- 15 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- 16 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- 17 Ollie Bearman (Haas)
- 18 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- 19 Alex Albon (Williams)
- 20 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 21 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
- 22 Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
The Hungarian Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday.
Source: formula1.com
