Breaking: Mercedes F1 star face disqualification as FIA issue Im…read more

Mercedes F1 star face disqualification as FIA issue Im…read more

George Russell’s growing reputation as Mercedes’ de-facto team leader was on display during Friday practice for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, when he used the opening session to protect rookie partner Andrea Kimi Antonelli from a potential rules breach that could have ended the teenager’s dream weekend before it properly began.

Imola is special ground for 18-year-old Antonelli: the historic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari lies barely an hour from his Bologna home, and the grandstands are packed with family, friends and thousands of tifosi eager to witness their local prodigy’s first Formula 1 appearance on Italian soil. While Antonelli has already impressed with points finishes in each of the first six rounds of 2025, a maiden podium in front of a home crowd would instantly elevate his rising status. Russell, 27, knows that opportunity is fragile—particularly under the sport’s unforgiving technical regulations.

Midway through Free Practice 1, Russell noticed that Antonelli’s W16 was shedding sparks through the fast left-hander at Variante Villeneuve and over the kerbs of Tosa. “Lots of bottoming and plank wear from Kimi, exit Turn 4, entry Turn 5,” he reported over team radio. The message was more than friendly advice; it was a warning that Antonelli’s floor might be running so low that the mandatory wooden “plank” affixed underneath could erode beyond the legal limit set in Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations. Exceed that wear tolerance and disqualification is automatic—no appeals, no latitude.

Mercedes track-side engineering director Andrew Shovlin quickly acknowledged the call, instructing Antonelli to box so mechanics could inspect the skid-block. Seven millimetres of thickness must remain after the race; if the Italian’s car continued to strike the asphalt so violently, the margin could vanish over 63 laps. Russell’s intervention evoked recent and painful reminders. Only a month ago, Lewis Hamilton (driving the customer McLaren at present) and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were stripped of their Chinese Grand Prix results when post-race scrutineers measured excessive wear. The echo was even louder within Mercedes: Hamilton himself and Leclerc were both disqualified at Austin in 2023 for exactly the same infringement, while Nico Hülkenberg suffered that fate for Sauber in Bahrain earlier this season.

Although the FIA conducts random plank checks rather than inspecting every car, the governing body typically targets those exhibiting obvious bottom-ing. Russell’s radio call therefore may have saved the Silver Arrows from gambling on anonymity. Engineers raised Antonelli’s rear ride height by 1.5 mm and adjusted dampers to soften his car’s response over Imola’s notoriously bumpy surface. The change cost a fraction of downforce—but Mercedes judged that a few hundredths of a second per lap is a cheap price compared with the zero points and public embarrassment a disqualification would bring.

Russell’s mentorship has been a recurring theme in 2025. Since Lewis Hamilton departed for Ferrari at the end of last year, Russell has embraced leadership and delivered four podiums from six starts, helping lift Mercedes to second in the constructors’ standings behind runaway leaders Red Bull. Antonelli’s consistency—finishing no lower than eighth so far—has amplified that surge, but the youngster readily concedes he is “leaning heavily” on Russell’s experience to shortcut F1’s steep learning curve.

The episode also underlines how the plank-wear rule, introduced in 1994 to curb ground-effect extremes, remains a potent strategic variable even in modern hybrid cars. Teams chase every millimetre of ride-height drop because lower floors create more downforce and efficiency, yet the penalty for mis-calculating track evolution or fuel burn is brutal. Imola magnifies the risk: its old-school kerbs and camber changes provoke violent floor strikes, especially when tyre pressures drift lower in cooler evening temperatures.

By session’s end, Antonelli was ninth-fastest, five-tenths adrift of Russell in fourth, but his relief was obvious. “George probably saved my weekend,” he admitted afterward. Should Sunday’s grand prix yield the fairytale podium locals crave, a quiet radio call on Friday morning may well be remembered as the decisive moment.