The F1 Australian GP stewards have reversed a penalty imposed on Andrea Kimi Antonelli, after right to review from Mercedes.
Antonelli was running a comfortable fourth in the closing stages when he received a penalty for unsafe release in the pit-lane.
The incident, that was not broadcast, involved Nico Hulkenberg and Antonelli in the pits after making their respected stops.
The penalty was applied within 90 seconds of the notification of investigation, raising eyebrows at Mercedes. Antonelli pushed harder upon learning of the penalty, and lost only position to Alex Albon at the chequered flag.
This decision has now been reversed. The extra points awarded to Antonelli give Mercedes the lead in the Constuctors’ Championship for the first time since 2021.
Full statement from the stewards
In their statement, the stewards said evidence provided by Mercedes, namely the roll hoop camera, exonerated Antonelli.
Decision 1: The petition of review is admissible.
Reason: All requirements were complied with.
Decision 2: There is a significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the party seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.
Reason: The petitioner provided video from the roll hoop camera which was previously unavailable. This video was relevant and significant in the opinion of the Stewards and was unavailable at the time of the original decision (having only been downloaded from the Formula One camera post-race).
Decision 3: Having examined the new video, plus additional video previously not available to the stewards and taken from the helicopter, the Stewards decide to reverse the previous Decision. As a result the penalty on Car 12 in Document number 43 is removed and no further action is required.
Reason: It is clear that Car 12 did not cross into the fast lane until a significant distance down the pit lane and only after the driver checked his mirror to confirm clearance with Car 27. The roll hoop camera shows that he had sufficient room to safely pass the McLaren pits without risk to the McLaren mechanics.
Feature Image @MercedesAMGF1 on X
