Antonelli Receives Grid Penalty After Verstappen Incident at Austrian GP

Andrea Kimi Antonelli faces a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming British Grand Prix following an incident with Max Verstappen at the Austrian GP. The Mercedes rookie experienced braking issues at Turn 3 that resulted in a collision with the Red Bull car.

After hearing driver testimony and reviewing video evidence, stewards determined the incident was entirely Antonelli’s fault. Besides the grid penalty, the 18-year-old Italian driver also received two penalty points on his license.

“I experienced rear wheel locking while using my normal braking point, but had to avoid a collision with Liam Lawson’s car ahead,” Antonelli explained during the stewards’ hearing.

Though the incident occurred on the first lap, stewards found no influence from other cars. Verstappen, now a four-time world champion, showed understanding towards the young driver’s mistake.

“Every driver has made a mistake like that in their careers. Kimi is a very big talent, he will learn from this,” said Verstappen.