F1 Announces Punishment for Kimi Antonelli at Qatar GP

 Drama erupted immediately after the Qatar GP Sprint when FIA stewards confirmed a five-second penalty for Kimi Antonelli due to multiple track-limits breaches.

The Mercedes F1 junior, who had overtaken Yuki Tsunoda after the Japanese driver was handed a five-second penalty for track-limits violation, saw his finishing position revised to sixth, undoing what looked like one of his cleanest drives of the season. 

Antonelli had navigated a frantic midfield battle in the 19-lap Sprint, managing tyres well and responding sharply to pressure from both Tsunoda and the pack behind. But Qatar’s unforgiving track-limits policing, heightened by fresh FIA focus this season, caught the young Italian out repeatedly.

Once the tally of violations exceeded the allowable threshold, the post-race penalty became inevitable. 

How the Penalty Shuffled the Order

Before the penalty, Antonelli appeared set to bank valuable points for Mercedes’ Sprint tally. But the timing of the sanction meant his finishing position was evaluated after the final lap, immediately dropping him from P5 to P8.

The demotion put him back behind Yuki Tsunoida, who himself had served a five-second penalty earlier in the Sprint for the same offence. Tsunoda crossed the line behind Antonelli but moved up the order once Antonelli’s post-race adjustment was applied. 

For Mercedes, it was a frustrating end to an otherwise encouraging short-format race. For Antonelli, it was a reminder of the precision needed at circuits where exceeding the white lines by centimetres can cost positions.