P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Mercedes will have both cars on the Australian Grand Prix front row on Sunday, after Kimi Antonelli escaped a penalty for being released in an unsafe condition
Mercedes will have both cars on the Australian Grand Prix front row on Sunday as Kimi Antonelli escaped a penalty for an unsafe release. During qualifying, Antonelli drove out with a cooling fan attached, which came off on track and hit Lando Norris’s McLaren. Due to a team member being occupied with another task, the fan was not removed before the car was released from the garage, leading to a €7,500 fine for Mercedes but no sporting penalty. Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, and Lance Stroll were allowed to start despite not setting a time in qualifying. The starting grid for the race is: 1 George Russell, 2 Kimi Antonelli, 3 Isack Hadjar, 4 Charles Leclerc, 5 Oscar Piastri, 6 Lando Norris, 7 Lewis Hamilton, 8 Liam Lawson, 9 Arvid Lindblad, 10 Gabriel Bortoleto, 11 Nico Hulkenberg, 12 Ollie Bearman, 13 Esteban Ocon, 14 Pierre Gasly, 15 Alex Albon, 16 Franco Colapinto, 17 Fernando Alonso, 18 Sergio Perez, 19 Valtteri Bottas, 20 Max Verstappen, 21 Carlos Sainz, 22 Lance Stroll.
