Andrea Kimi Antonelli has escaped a penalty after an unusual incident during qualifying for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
Antonelli endured a nightmare first qualifying session of 2026, as a crash from FP3 looked set to curtail his running before he had even set a lap in Q1.
But Max Verstappen’s dramatic Q1 crash offered him and Mercedes a lifeline, and the the young Italian rolled out of his garage into the pit-lane during the stoppage.
However, his front wing was over the white line that defines the fast lane, and a team member rolled him back to prevent him hitting any cars.
This action by Mercedes contravened regulations stating that team members must not touch or work on the car in the fast lane, prompting the stewards to investigate.
Kimi Antonelli escapes penalty
Despite the transgression, the stewards opted not to penalise Antonelli, believing Mercedes was acting in a way “which was entirely appropriate in the circumstances”
“During the qualifying session, which was suspended due to a red-flag incident, and while the cars were lined up to leave the pit lane, car 12 was waiting to blend into the fast lane,” the stewards said in a statement.
“Car 12 had inched slightly into the fast lane with a very small portion of the front wing in the pit lane. A team member assisted in pushing the car back a little to allow for that part to not hinder the fast lane.
“While the car was touched by the team member (to push it back), this did not constitute a breach of Article B1.6.1e, which prohibits work being done on the car, which clearly was not the case here.
“In fact, the team member was taking steps to not hinder the other drivers in the fast lane, which was entirely appropriate in the circumstances. We accordingly took no further action.”
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