Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli penalty is reversed, finishes 4th in debut race

The five second penalty Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli was initially given over a dispute in the pits was reversed after a review, giving him a 4th place finish in his debut F1 race in Australia. 

The Italian teenager was promoted up the order after Mercedes submitted a “Right of Review”.  During the incident in question, the stewards ruled that Antonelli drove into the path of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in the pit lane and penalised him. 

This was after Antonelli’s super-star level debut drive, working his way up the field from P16 to P4. 

The penalty pushed him down to P5 and Williams racer Alex Albon moved up to P4. Mercedes were clearly not happy and submitted the Right of Review and backed it up with footage that showed the incident from various angles. 

These were shots from the roll hoop camera and a helicopter, previously unavailable to the stewards. Their decision was reversed after the footage was reviewed. 

Mercedes, Kick Sauber and Williams attended the review process, as all three teams were involved in the incident, with Albon moving up because of the error. 

“It is clear that Car 12 did not cross into the fast lane until a significant distance down the pit lane and only after the driver checked his mirror to confirm clearance with Car 27. 

“The roll hoop camera shows that he had sufficient room to safely pass the McLaren pits without risk to the McLaren mechanics,” a document on the review said. 

The impressive fourth place finish for Antonelli on his debut means he collects 12 points instead of 10 and vice versa for Albon. Mercedes and McLaren are now tied at the top of the Constructor standings with 27 points a piece after race 1.