Did Antonelli Deserve the Three-Place Grid Penalty at Silverstone for the Crash with Verstappen?

Spielberg, June 29 (NationPress) Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has received a three-place grid penalty for the forthcoming British Grand Prix after the stewards determined he was responsible for a collision with Max Verstappen during Lap 1 in Austria.

Starting from P9 on the grid, Antonelli experienced a rear brake lock-up as he approached Turn 3, which resulted in him colliding with Verstappen's Red Bull, leading to both cars retiring from the race.

Following the incident, both drivers were called to the stewards, who concluded that Antonelli was “fully at fault”. However, they acknowledged that his actions were influenced by his need to take evasive measures after locking up.

According to the stewards' report, “During the hearing, the driver admitted to making a mistake by locking up the rear wheels while braking normally, but emphasized that he had to avoid colliding with Car 30 [Liam Lawson] in front and briefly released the brakes to do so.

“This evasive maneuver compromised the car's grip on the dirty inside line, preventing him from decelerating sufficiently to avoid hitting Car 1.

“Despite the incident occurring on Lap 1, the stewards noted that no other vehicles played a role in the incident, and thus, the driver of Car 12 is deemed entirely at fault. Consequently, the less stringent approach for judging Lap 1 collisions was not applied here.

“Nonetheless, they recognized that this was not an intentional dive into the corner, but rather a result of the evasive actions following the lock-up.”

Since the teenager was unable to continue racing, the penalty imposed is a three-place grid drop for the next event, which will take place at Silverstone from July 4-6, in addition to two penalty points on his driving license.

After his early race exit at the Red Bull Ring, Antonelli commented: “I felt I had a standard start, but as I approached T3, I was just trying to hold my position. I was aware of the limited space ahead, but when I applied the brakes, I locked the rear wheels and lost control.

“In locking the rear, I lost the car and had to initially avoid the Racing Bull [Lawson], but ultimately I couldn’t stop in time and unfortunately collided with Max. I deeply regret this for my team and for him, of course.”

Verstappen appeared to accept Antonelli's apology, stating, “Unlucky, I guess. It is what it is. I had a brief chat with Kimi, and he came to hospitality with me. I believe every driver has faced a mistake like that. Nobody does it purposefully, so for me, it's not a significant issue,” Verstappen remarked after the race.