Kimi Antonelli discovers verdict after investigation for 'erratic driving' at Barcelona Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli issued an apology after he was reprimanded for driving erratically at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old was summoned by race stewards after the final free practice on Saturday afternoon for an incident involving Lance Stroll.

With roughly 10 minutes left of the session, Antonelli began his first flying lap on a new set of soft tyres. The Championship leader raced into Turn 1, where he encountered Stroll ahead of him.

Antonelli had to lift to get past his opponent and in the following corner, he braked in front of his opponent, which forced him to slow down and avoid a collision. "Oh my god, Stroll, as always!" the Italian teenager shouted in frustration over the Mercedes team radio.

After the session came to an end, Antonelli was charged with erratic driving, an offence he admitted and apologised for. It marked his first reprimand of the Grand Prix season ahead of Race 7 this weekend.

The stewards' verdict wrote: "The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 12 (Kimi Antonelli) and team representatives of Mercedes and Aston Martin and reviewed video, telemetry and in- car video evidence.

"Car 12 was impacted by Car 18 when approaching Turn 1. After passing Car 18 the driver of Car 12 applied the brakes in front of Car 18 and prevented the latter from passing. This is deemed driving in an erratic manner. The driver admitted during the hearing that he acted out of frustration and apologized for his action."

Russell leads after FP3

George Russell led the way during the final session ahead of qualifying in Barcelona on Saturday afternoon. The Mercedes teammate of Antonelli set a best lap of 1:15.679, while Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc completed the top three.

Antontelli finished in seventh, having been unable to set a competitive lap time during the final minutes of the session. He not only encountered traffic on his first flying lap, but also did on his second flying lap as well. British F1 world champions Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with Max Verstappen in sixth.

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