Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Mercedes have learned of their fate in the second of two post-qualifying investigations at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver was the subject of two probes by the stewards after taking second place in qualifying at the Albert Park Circuit on Saturday.
An unusual pitlane incident, potentially deemed unsafe release, resulted in no further action for the Italian, but a second incident could have proved costly.
The detachment of a cooling fan from Antonelli’s W17 resulted in half of it being speared-into by Lando Norris shortly before Q3, damaging the reigning World Champion’s McLaren.
A final decision has shown some leniency, as it took into account what it called “legacy issues” with the car, therefore Antonelli has been allowed to keep his second place on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
This is due to the Silver Arrows completing a remarkable but rapid repair on Antonelli’s car, after he totalled it in the final moments of FP3, when he lost it on the exit of Turn 2.
However the team has not got off entirely lightly, as a €7,500 fine has been imposed.
The FIA’s decision on Kimi Antonelli in full
“Car 12 (Antonelli) was released from its garage during the session with a duct cooling fan still attached on the right side of the car.
“The fan assembly disconnected from the duct of Car 12 as it negotiated Turn 1, split apart and one section of it bounced off the track onto the gravel at the exit.
“Another section of the fan assembly dislodged onto the track at Turn 2 and was later struck by the front wing and tyre of another car causing debris to be strewn over the track, damage to the front wing of the other car and the session had to be red flagged to remove the debris.
“The team explained that an incident in an earlier session in which car 12 had sustained significant damage meant that the division of labour within the team had to be changed to repair the damage within a short time frame.
“Usually, a separate team member would have responsibility for inserting and removing each fan but the need to address legacy issues from the earlier incident during the session meant that the team member responsible for the fan on that side of the car was occupied on another task and the removal of the fan before the car was released from the garage was missed.
“The team (and the Driver) were unaware that the fan had not been removed until the incident was noted by race control.
“The Stewards determine that because Car 12 left its garage with a piece of equipment still attached, it was released in an unsafe condition and the Stewards impose a fine on the Competitor accordingly.”
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