Mercedes bid to overturn Kimi Antonelli penalty which left Toto Wolff 'shaking head'

UPDATED STORY: F1 stewards announce Kimi Antonelli decision after Mercedes appeal

Mercedes have submitted a right of review to try and overturn Kimi Antonelli's penalty for an unsafe release at the Australian Grand Prix.

Antonelli was hit with a five-second penalty late, dropping him from P4 to P5 in the final classification in Melbourne. 

The Italian had driven a fantastic race from 16th on the grid, pulling off several impressive overtakes as he recovered from the back of the field.

Up to fifth following the final Safety Car, Antonelli overtook Alex Albon for fourth.

However, he dropped back behind the Williams driver after the stewards concluded that Antonelli was released unsafely into the path of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in the pit lane.

The stewards noted: “Car 12 [Antonelli] was released into the path of Car 27 [Hulkenberg]. Car 27 had to brake and take avoiding action.”

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Wolff was unimpressed by how the incident was handled.

“You can only shake your head,” Wolff said. “It came up. There’s an incident. Nobody saw it. It wasn’t played and 90 seconds later there was a penalty of five seconds. So…”

Antonelli has “good future” in F1

It was a landmark result for Antonelli, who was making his F1 grand prix debut in Melbourne.

At 18, Antonelli is the youngest driver on the 2025 F1 grid, having spent just one year in Formula 2 - the sport’s main feeder series.

Given that Mercedes is a top team and he was chosen as the driver to replace Lewis Hamilton, the pressure has been on his shoulders.

Wolff praised Antonelli for his recovery after his Q1 exit in Australia, describing his drive as “really impressive”.

“Started P16. Had the fortune of a few people crashing out. He took it in the right way,” Wolff added. “He just reeled them in one by one, showed the pace when he had no traffic and then eventually ended up P4 on the road and P5 as a result. That’s really impressive.

“Even very good drivers spun or hit the wall. It’s easier to not finish than to finish and he kept his cool. It was just very impressive to see and it shows he has a good future if it keeps being like it is.”

Antonelli thanks Mercedes after early spin

The race wasn’t all plain sailing for Antonelli, who had a spin at Turn 4.

In practice, Antonelli, like teammate Russell, put a wheel on the grass when turning into the corner and spun.

Fortunately, he kept it out of the barriers before putting in a strong drive to secure fifth.

Reflecting on the race, Antonelli said: “It was good. I mean, it was a really eventful race. I wanted the podium so bad. I wasn’t aware of the penalty. It was unfortunate. I really cannot complain about today.

“The team did a great job. They guided me through. After I had the mistake, it hurt my confidence a little bit in my stint and the team did great to calm me down and get me back into the rhythm.

“They also made all the right calls. Really happy about the day.”