Kimi Antonelli was struck by a three -seater grid penalty for the next British Grand Prix after the delegates found it at fault for a collision with Max Verstappen in the first round in Austria.
After starting at P9 on the grid, Antonelli locked up the rear brakes of his Mercedes in turn 3, having him hit Verstappen‘s Red Bull Who put the two cars out of the race.
Both were summoned to the commissioners of the incident, where the verdict was that Antonelli was “fully faulty” of what happened, although it was also recognized that this decision had been “the result of the evasive action after having locked”.
Given that the teenager was unable to continue in the race, the penalty decided was a three -seat grid drop for the next race – that being Silverstone Next weekend from July 4 to 6 – as well as two penalty points on its license.
A document published following the steward meeting stipulates: “During the hearing, the driver admitted that he had made a mistake by locking the rear wheels while using his regular braking point, but also stressed that he needed to avoid a collision with the car 30 (Liam Lawson) Before him and released the brakes for a short period to do so.
“Taking evasive measures led the car to have less grip on the dirty inner line and so he could not decelerate the car so as to avoid the collision with the car 1.
“The commissioners determine that, although the incident occurred in Tour 1, no other car influenced the incident and that the driver of the car 12 is entirely at fault. Consequently, the milder approach to judge Tour 1 incidents has not been applied in this case.
“However, they also recognize that the incident was not a blatant attempt to dive into the corner, but rather the result of the evasive action after having locked.”
Speaking after his early release of the race for Red Bull RingAntonelli said, “I think I had a normal start, then going to T3, I was just trying to maintain the position. I didn’t want to do anything because I knew there was no space at the front, but when I hit the brake, I locked the back and I was caught by that.
“When I locked the rear, I lost the car, then I had to avoid the racing bull (from Lawson) first, but then I couldn’t stop the car. Unfortunately, I struck Max and I just feel very sorry for the team, and of course.
“I apologized immediately. I recognize that everything is on me and I’m just sorry because I finished my race, but I also finished his. ”
Verstappen apparently accepted Antonelli’s apologies, the world champion Think about the incident: “Unlucky, I suppose. That’s what it is. I quickly spoke to Kimi, he came with me to hospitality.
“I think each driver made a mistake like that. No one is also doing it on purpose, it’s not a big problem. ”
