Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, Austria, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing
Ryan Smart
Topics: Max Verstappen, Formula 1, Austria, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has been handed a post-race penalty by the FIA for causing a collision with Max Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Antonelli locked up his rear tyres heading into turn two on lap one and struck Verstappen, causing both drivers to retire.
It is the first time Verstappen has failed to finish in any of his last 31 races.
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Antonelli immediately accepted blame for the incident, and apologised to both his team over the radio and then Verstappen later on.
However, he has now received a significant penalty for the upcoming British Grand Prix.
The 18-year-old has been given a three-place grid penalty for the race at Silverstone for causing a collision.
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In addition, two penalty points have been added to his FIA Super Licence for the next 12 months.
If a driver receives 12 points in a 365-day period, they will receive a race ban, though these are the first penalty points Antonelli has been given since his debut in F1 at the start of 2025.
An FIA statement reads: "The Stewards determine that, although the incident happened in Lap 1, no other cars influenced the incident and the driver of Car 12 is fully at fault,.
"Therefore, the more lenient approach to judging Lap 1 incidents has not been applied in this case. However, they also acknowledge that the incident was not a blatant attempt to dive into the corner but rather a result of the evasive action after locking up.
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"As the driver was not able to continue the race a grid drop for the next race is applied."
Antonelli told reporters that an error with his brake settings caused him to lock up and overshoot the corner, with his collision with Verstappen being the end result.
"I should have just changed the brake setting going into T3," he said.
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"When I went to hit the brake, I locked the rear completely, and I just lost the car. Then obviously I was about to hit Lawson, because I lost a lot of deceleration, and then I had to avoid Lawson. When I reapplied the brake, I locked the front left and just couldn't stop the car.
"It's a big lesson. I just should have changed the brake setting, and none of this would have happened."
Verstappen is now 61 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri after the McLaren driver finished in second place in Austria.
The race was won by Piastri's team-mate Lando Norris, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc rounding out the podium.