Kimi Antonelli has been issued a three-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix following a rule violation during Saturday’s Qualifying session. This penalty places him further down the starting grid for Sunday’s race at the Hungaroring.
The penalty stems from an incident in Q3 where Antonelli was found to have not slowed sufficiently for yellow flags. These flags were deployed after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun at the final corner. The stewards’ investigation determined that Antonelli breached Appendix H, Article 2.5.5 b) of the International Sporting Code and B1.8.4a of the FIA F1 Regulations.
Initially, Antonelli had qualified in fourth position. He had provisionally moved up the grid due to a separate three-place penalty given to Lewis Hamilton for impeding McLaren driver Oscar Piastri at the end of Q3. However, with his own penalty, Antonelli will now start the race from seventh place.
The stewards’ document detailed their findings, noting that telemetry confirmed Antonelli had lifted off the throttle earlier than during his previous lap upon seeing the yellow flag and light panel. Despite this initial reduction, the speed reduction was for a very brief period. The car’s speed when passing the scene of Verstappen’s incident was slightly higher compared to his previous push lap.
Further analysis showed that the mini sector time was only 0.03 seconds slower than Antonelli’s best time for that specific mini sector. While he was 14 km/h slower entering the yellow flag sector due to lifting off 16 metres earlier, he was 3 km/h faster when passing the incident site. This was attributed to less application of the brakes when entering the corner.
FIA representatives observed that the speed reduction within the mini sector was less than 1%. The stewards highlighted that this incident differed from other cases where no further action was taken, primarily because there was no significant speed difference through the mini sector compared to the driver’s previous fastest time under similar conditions.
The recommended penalty for this type of offence, according to the penalty guidelines, is typically a five-grid position drop. However, the stewards considered mitigating factors in Antonelli’s case. They acknowledged that the driver did make an attempt to reduce speed, even if it was deemed insufficient and unsustained. Additionally, Antonelli had limited time and distance to react to the situation, which led to a lower penalty being applied.
This penalty adds to the challenge for Antonelli as he aims to maintain his lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings. In a separate incident during Qualifying, Antonelli also received a warning from the stewards for driving unnecessarily slowly during an in-lap.
The revised starting grid for the F1 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix places Lando Norris of McLaren in pole position, followed by Charles Leclerc from Ferrari in second. Oscar Piastri secures third place for McLaren, with Max Verstappen of Red Bull starting fourth. Lewis Hamilton, now with Ferrari, will begin the race from fifth, and George Russell of Mercedes is in sixth. Antonelli, also from Mercedes, will start from seventh place.
Other notable grid positions include Isack Hadjar of Red Bull in eighth, Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls in ninth, and Nico Hulkenberg of Audi completing the top ten. Further down the grid, Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls is eleventh, followed by Pierre Gasly of Alpine in twelfth, and Franco Colapinto of Alpine in thirteenth. Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi starts fourteenth, with Esteban Ocon of Haas in fifteenth. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin is set to start from sixteenth position.
The grid continues with Ollie Bearman of Haas in seventeenth, Carlos Sainz of Williams in eighteenth, and Alex Albon of Williams in nineteenth. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin will start twentieth. The final two positions on the grid are occupied by Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac in twenty-first and Sergio Perez, also of Cadillac, in twenty-second.
The penalties issued to both Antonelli and Hamilton have significantly altered the initial qualifying results, setting the stage for an intriguing race day. The stewards’ decision regarding Antonelli’s yellow flag infringement underscores the strict adherence required to safety regulations during competitive sessions.
The revised grid ensures that drivers will need to adapt their race strategies accordingly, with several key contenders starting from different positions than initially anticipated. This adds an element of unpredictability to the upcoming race at the Hungaroring.
Source: formula1.com
