It has been confirmed that Williams driver Alex Albon has moved down to fifth position in the Australian Grand Prix standings following a successful appeal from Mercedes.
Lando Norris held off reigning world champion Max Verstappen in mixed-conditions on Sunday to secure a memorable victory in Melbourne, while George Russell completed the podium standings.
Alex Albon, meanwhile, finished behind Kimi Antonelli in the race as the rookie Italian impressed on his F1 debut but because Antonelli was awarded a five-second penalty for an unsafe release, the Williams driver secured fourth place.
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It was an unfortunate moment for Antonelli, who had worked his way forwards from a starting slot of P16 to cross the line in P4.
However, that five-second penalty has now been removed after Mercedes submitted a successful ‘Right of Review’ request over the incident, meaning Antonelli has been promoted back to P4.
As per the F1 website, Mercedes petitioned for a ‘Right of Review’ after stewards deemed that Antonelli had been released into the path of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in the pit lane.
A hearing took place in which they presented footage from the roll hoop camera which was previously unavailable.
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And after this was examined – along with additional video not previously available to the stewards taken from the helicopter – the decision was taken to remove Antonelli’s five-second time penalty.
A document was soon released following the hearing as the reasoning behind the stewards’ decision was explained.
“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 document reads.
“The roll hoop camera shows that he had sufficient room to safely pass the McLaren pits without risk to the McLaren mechanics.”
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In addition to the above, the document also issued a reminder that competitors have the right to appeal certain decisions from the stewards.
As a result of Antonelli being reinstated, the rookie has been given an additional two points, which now ties Mercedes with McLaren at the top of the Teams’ Championship standings on 27 points each.
Albon, meanwhile, has been awarded 10 points rather than 12, but Williams remain fourth in the standings.
Jack Kenmare