Breaking: FIA confirms penalty verdict for Mercedes F1 Star at Chinese GP after…read more

FIA confirms penalty verdict for Mercedes F1 Star at Chinese GP after…read more

A driver from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team has been hit with a penalty by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile during the sprint race at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, slightly spoiling what had otherwise looked like a very strong weekend for the Silver Arrows at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Mercedes entered the Shanghai round full of confidence as the first sprint weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season got underway. From the start of the event, the team showed impressive pace, quickly establishing themselves as the fastest outfit on track. During the only practice session of the weekend, both George Russell and rookie sensation Kimi Antonelli topped the timing sheets, finishing first and second respectively. Their performance immediately signaled that Mercedes could be the team to beat under the sport’s new regulations.

That momentum carried into sprint qualifying on Friday. Russell delivered an outstanding lap to claim the first sprint pole position of his career, while Antonelli completed a front-row lockout for Mercedes by securing second place. The result further highlighted the team’s early-season strength and set them up perfectly for Saturday’s short-format sprint race.

However, when the lights went out for the 100km sprint, Antonelli’s race quickly went wrong. While Russell launched cleanly from pole and maintained his lead at the front, the Italian teenager struggled to get off the line. Within moments of the start, he had lost several places and dropped down the order, falling from second to seventh position.

After the race, the 19-year-old apologised to his team and explained that he experienced an issue during the start procedure, claiming he had “no boost” available when the race began. This lack of power contributed to the poor launch that cost him several positions immediately.

Determined to recover the lost ground, Antonelli began pushing aggressively in the early stages of the race. Unfortunately, that urgency soon resulted in trouble. During the opening lap, the Mercedes driver attempted to fight back through the field but became involved in contact with Isack Hadjar at Turn 6.

The incident sent debris flying from Hadjar’s car, which runs under the Red Bull Racing programme. Race officials quickly noted the collision and launched an investigation into the situation. After reviewing the footage, the stewards ruled that Antonelli had been responsible for causing the contact.

As a result, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile issued the Mercedes rookie with a 10-second time penalty for the incident. The punishment would later affect his race strategy and finishing position.

Later in the sprint, another twist occurred when Nico Hülkenberg was forced to stop his car at the side of the track due to a problem with his Audi Formula 1 Team machine. Initially, yellow flags were waved, but the situation soon escalated into a full safety car deployment.

Mercedes responded by bringing both of their drivers into the pits at the same time in a double-stack stop on lap 14. During his stop, Antonelli served the 10-second penalty before rejoining the race further down the order.

Despite the setback, the young Italian managed to regain some positions before the chequered flag and ultimately finished fifth in the sprint race. Meanwhile, Russell controlled the race from the front and went on to secure victory, giving Mercedes a strong result overall.

Following the race, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff shared his thoughts on the penalty while speaking to Sky Sports F1 reporter Ted Kravitz. Wolff suggested that he had initially expected a slightly lighter punishment.

“I thought it might have been a five-second penalty,” Wolff admitted, while acknowledging the challenge stewards face when judging racing incidents. Although Antonelli’s race was disrupted, Mercedes still left the sprint with valuable momentum thanks to Russell’s dominant performance. 🏎️

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