Kimi Antonelli has been given a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix after the Mercedes driver was judged not to have slowed enough when he encountered yellow flags during qualifying.
The incident happened at Turn 14, where Antonelli came across a yellow-flag situation during his qualifying run. The Mercedes driver did lift off the throttle after seeing the warning, but the Stewards concluded that his response did not reduce his speed sufficiently for the circumstances.
The data reviewed by the Stewards showed that Antonelli approached the section more slowly than he had on his previous lap. However, the difference was not considered large enough. His speed reduction through the relevant part of the track was limited, and his overall time through the short section was almost identical to his previous best.
The Stewards acknowledged that Antonelli had reacted to the yellow flags and had begun lifting earlier than he had on his previous lap. However, they determined that the reduction in speed was not sustained for long enough and did not provide the level of caution expected when drivers encounter yellow flags.
After considering the circumstances, the Stewards decided that a grid penalty was appropriate. They noted that Antonelli had made an attempt to slow down, which was taken into account when determining the final punishment.
Antonelli had qualified fourth for the Hungarian Grand Prix, putting him on the second row alongside Charles Leclerc. The three-place penalty will therefore drop him to seventh on the starting grid, behind Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen and George Russell.