Mercedes punished for Kimi Antonelli ‘legacy’ issue
Mercedes has been fined by the Australian Grand Prix stewards for an unsafe release during the top-10 shoot-out involving Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli, who had a significant crash in final practice, managed to qualify thanks to Mercedes’ quick repairs. Despite a red-flag period in Q1 due to a crash involving Verstappen, an incident in Q3 saw Antonelli sent out with a cooling fan still attached to his car, causing damage and a red flag. The stewards fined Mercedes €7,500, considering the team’s earlier legacy issues in repairing the car under time pressure. The team explained that changes in responsibilities due to the earlier crash led to the overlooked fan removal, leaving both the team and the driver unaware of the mishap until race control intervened.
