Antonelli handed three-place grid penalty for Verstappen collision

Kimi Antonelli has been given a three-place grid penalty for the next race he competes in after taking out Max Verstappen at the start of the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes rookie took evasive action under braking for Turn 3 on the opening lap, saying his rear brakes locked and forcing him to the inside to avoid two cars ahead. Unable to stop in time, Antonelli crashed into the right rear corner of Verstappen as the Red Bull driver was just getting on the power to exit the corner, eliminating both from the race on the spot.

The stewards felt Antonelli was wholly to blame for the incident and gave him a grid penalty for his next race, which should be the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend.

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“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,” the stewards’ decision read.

“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.

"The stewards determine that, although the incident happened in Lap 1, no other cars influenced the incident and the driver of Car 12 is fully at fault. Therefore the more lenient approach to judging Lap 1 incidents has not been applied in this case. However, they also acknowledge that the incident was not a blatant attempt to dive into the corner but rather a result of the evasive action after locking up.

“As the driver was not able to continue the race a grid drop for the next race is applied.”

Antonelli also receives two penalty points for the incident, giving him the first two he has earned on his license, but Verstappen was understanding of the rookie’s mistake.

“I just asked what happened [at the time], because he was the only car that was there with me with his wheel hanging off,” Verstappen said. “So, I was like, I'm pretty sure that he hit me! And then I saw the footage once I came back.

“It happens – every driver has made a mistake like that. Everyone has made a mistake like that in their careers. Kimi is a very big talent. He apologized to me, and that's all fine.

“That’s very nice, but for me it was already case closed. I saw what happened. No one does these things on purpose – it can happen.”