Kimi Antonelli Handed Grid Penalty for British GP After Austrian Collision with Verstappen

Rookie sensation Kimi Antonelli has been issued a three-place grid penalty for the upcoming British Grand Prix following his involvement in a first-lap collision with Max Verstappen during the Austrian Grand Prix. The stewards thoroughly investigated the incident and ultimately deemed Antonelli fully at fault for the contact that led to both drivers retiring from the race.

The incident occurred on the opening lap when Antonelli, starting ninth, locked his brakes while approaching Turn 3. This led to him making contact with Verstappen's car, sending both into the runoff area and out of contention. While Antonelli explained that he locked his rear brakes and briefly released them to avoid another car in front, the stewards concluded that his actions, despite being evasive, were the primary cause of the collision. They stated, "In the hearing the driver admitted that he made a mistake as he locked up the rear wheels while using his regular braking point, but also pointed out that he needed to avoid a collision with Car 30 [] in front of him and released the brakes for a short period of time to do so. Taking evasive action led to the car having less grip on the dirty inside line and therefore he was not able to decelerate the car in a way to avoid the collision with Car 1."

Despite the incident happening on the opening lap, the stewards decided against applying typical leniency, emphasizing that no other cars directly influenced the collision and that Antonelli's actions were "fully at fault."

In addition to the grid drop, Antonelli also received two penalty points on his racing license. The young driver expressed deep remorse for the incident, stating, "I just feel very sorry towards the team, and him of course. I just apologised straight away. I recognise it’s all on me and I just feel sorry because I ended my race, but I ended his as well." Max Verstappen appeared to accept Antonelli's apology, commenting, "Unlucky, I guess. It is what it is. I spoke quickly to Kimi, he came with me to the hospitality. I think every driver has made a mistake like that. No one does that on purpose as well so for me, that’s not a big deal."