Kimi Antonelli punishment confirmed after Max Verstappen collision

Kimi Antonelli has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the British Grand Prix, following his first-lap collision with Max Verstappen in Austria.

Antonelli has also had two penalty points added to his FIA Super Licence, the first to be handed to the Mercedes rookie since he stepped up to Formula 1.

Kimi Antonelli penalty confirmed after Max Verstappen shunt

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Antonelli was immediately apologetic for his role in Verstappen’s retirement from the Austrian Grand Prix, which saw the Italian lock his rear tyres in the braking zone at Turn 3.

Unable to slow down enough to make the corner, he made contact with the Red Bull driver and, in the subsequent moments, both drivers sustained enough damage to rule them out of the rest of the race.

Declaring Antonelli “fully at fault” for the collision, the stewards wrote in their verdict: “The driver of Car 12 [Antonelli] locked up the rear brakes into Turn 3 and collided with Car 1 [Verstappen].

“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 [Liam Lawson] in front of him and released the brakes for a short period of time to do so.

“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 [Verstappen].”

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Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com after his early exit in Austria, Antonelli reiterated his apology towards the reigning World Champion and will look to learn for the next race in Silverstone.

“I couldn’t hear what [Verstappen] said, but I apologise to him and I will try to talk to him after just to explain and to apologise once more,” said the teenager.

“I feel very sorry towards my team, because, obviously it’s a mistake from my side.

“But as well, I ended this race and this is definitely not what I want.

“When I went to hit the brake, I locked the rear completely and I just lost the car.

“And when I lost the car, then obviously I was about to hit [Liam] Lawson, because obviously I lost a lot of deceleration and then I had to avoid Lawson.

“And then, when I reapply the brake, I locked front left and just couldn’t stop the car.

“It’s definitely the first mistake I do in the race start and definitely it’s a big lesson.

“I just should have changed the brake setting and none of this would have happened, so I think it’s a lesson for next time.

“I’ll try to come back stronger in Silverstone.”