Andrea Kimi Antonelli had a sensational Formula 1 debut in Melbourne. The 18-year-old Mercedes driver started 16th on the grid, and was given a five-second penalty for an unsafe release in the pit lane. In reaction, Mercedes appealed the decision of the stewards, and it was overturned.
Antonelli, who has been slotted in as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, reached the finish line in a race filled with crashes.
His performance and Mercedes’ successful appeal saw him retain his fourth-place finish as the penalty was overturned, and he finished one spot behind teammate George Russell. Russell finished on the podium, in third place.
Hailing the teenager’s performance, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said, “He took it the right way, wheeled it in one by one, showed the pace when he had no traffic and eventually ended up P4 on the road, and that’s impressive.”
“Even very good drivers spun or hit the wall, and it was easier to not finish than finish and he kept his cool. It was very impressive to see, and it shows he has a good future as long as the trajectory keeps being where it is.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff reacts to the penalty
Wolff was also left fuming by the initial penalty, and said, “You can only shake your head. It came up as an incident, nobody saw it, it wasn’t played, and 90 seconds later there was a penalty of five seconds.”
Lando Norris reigned supreme, with Max Verstappen coming in second position. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton had a disappointing Ferrari debut, bagging the final point position.
‘I definitely cannot complain about today’: Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli was also impressed with his performance after the race. “We got the worst possible conditions for a first race. I mean, we got wet, slicks on damp, slicks on wet, and then back to wet. So definitely a really, really eventful race. But really happy how it was managed from my side and from the team,” he said.
“I definitely cannot complain about today,” he added.
After their successful appeal, Mercedes will be happy, considering Russell’s solid performance to get a first podium of the season.
