Kimi Antonelli receives a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix due to a qualifying rule infraction. Find out how this impacts his starting posi
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 further down the starting grid for Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring.
The penalty stems from an investigation conducted after qualifying, which determined that Antonelli did not sufficiently reduce his speed for yellow flags. These flags were deployed after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun during Q3. Antonelli’s actions were found to be in breach of Appendix H, Article 2.5.5 b) of the International Sporting Code and B1.8.4a of the FIA F1 Regulations.
Initially, Antonelli had qualified in fourth position. He had even provisionally moved up a spot on the grid due to a separate three-place penalty handed to Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton’s penalty was for impeding McLaren driver Oscar Piastri at the conclusion of Q3.
However, with his own penalty, Antonelli will now start the race from seventh on the grid. This adjustment adds to the challenge for the championship leader as he aims to maintain or extend his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
Stewards’ Decision and Rationale
The stewards’ document provided a detailed explanation for their decision. It noted that Antonelli, driving Car 12, stated he lifted off the throttle earlier than his previous push lap upon seeing the yellow flag and light panel. Telemetry data verified this claim.
Despite this, the reduction in speed was for a very brief period. The car’s speed when passing the incident site involving Car 3 (Verstappen) 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.
The stewards observed that while Antonelli 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. This was attributed to less application of the brakes when entering the corner. Representatives from the FIA highlighted that the speed reduction in the mini sector was less than 1%.
The stewards considered this incident distinct from others where no further action was taken. They noted that in this case, there was no significant speed delta 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, in mitigation, the stewards acknowledged that Antonelli did make an attempt to reduce speed, though they deemed it insufficient and unsustained. They also considered that the driver had limited time and distance to react to the situation, leading to the application of a lower penalty.
Impact on the Starting Grid
The penalties for both Antonelli and Hamilton have altered the starting order for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The provisional grid now sees Lando Norris of McLaren starting from pole position.
Following Norris are Charles Leclerc from Ferrari in second, and Oscar Piastri of McLaren in third. Max Verstappen of Red Bull is set to start fourth, with Lewis Hamilton, now with Ferrari, in fifth. George Russell of Mercedes will begin the race from sixth.
Antonelli’s penalty places him in seventh position, followed by Isack Hadjar of Red Bull in eighth. Arvid Lindblad from Racing Bulls is ninth, and Nico Hulkenberg of Audi completes the top ten starters. In a separate incident during qualifying, Antonelli also received a warning from the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly on an in-lap.
Source: formula1.com
