Championship leader lost three positions for not sufficiently reducing speed under yellow flag during qualifying
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Kimi Antonelli received a three-position grid penalty for the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. The decision was announced by the stewards this Saturday, after the Mercedes driver was found guilty of not sufficiently reducing speed during a yellow flag section in Q3 of qualifying. With the application of all penalties announced by the FIA, the championship leader dropped from fourth to seventh position on the provisional grid for this Sunday’s race.
Antonelli had secured fourth place in the qualifying session but lost three positions after the infraction. As Lewis Hamilton was also penalized for impeding Oscar Piastri’s fast lap, the grid order was again altered with the publication of the official starting formation.
With this, Lando Norris maintained pole position, with Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row. Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen now share the second row, while Hamilton starts in fifth. George Russell moves up to sixth, Antonelli drops to seventh, Isack Hadjar starts in eighth, Arvid Lindblad in ninth, and Nico Hülkenberg completes the top ten. Gabriel Bortoleto maintains 14th position on the grid.
In addition to the loss of three positions, Antonelli received one penalty point on his superlicence and now accumulates four points over a 12-month period.
The incident occurred at Turn 14 during Q3. Yellow flags were deployed after an incident involving car number 3, requiring drivers to reduce speed in that section.
Antonelli explained to the stewards that he saw the yellow flag and the light panel and lifted off the accelerator earlier than he had done on his previous fast lap. Telemetry confirmed that the Italian began to decelerate 16 meters earlier and entered the flagged sector 14 km/h slower.
However, the speed reduction was deemed insufficient. According to data analyzed by the FIA, Antonelli passed the incident location 3 km/h faster than on his previous lap, a consequence of less brake application at the corner entry.
The time recorded in the mini-sector also caught the attention of the stewards. The mark was only 0s03 slower than his best passage in that section, representing a reduction of less than 1% in average speed.
Given the video evidence, telemetry, timing system, and onboard camera images, the stewards concluded that the driver did not sufficiently reduce speed during the yellow flag period.
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“Although the driver lifted off the accelerator 16 meters earlier, he was 3 km/h faster when passing the incident location due to less brake application at the corner entry,” the decision stated.
The stewards emphasized that the case differed from other similar episodes concluded without penalty, precisely because there was no significant and sustained speed reduction compared to the previous fast lap.
The FIA directive provides for a five-position grid penalty in such situations. However, the stewards understood that Antonelli effectively tried to reduce speed and had little time and distance to react to the signaling, opting to reduce the penalty to three positions.
In addition to this incident, Antonelli was also investigated for driving unnecessarily slowly during his return lap to the pits. The driver exceeded the maximum allowed time between sectors SC2 and SC1, failing to comply with the race director’s instructions.
In his statement, the Italian acknowledged that he exceeded the delta time and explained that his attention was focused on the fast lap compromised by the yellow flag. Mercedes informed the stewards that the team was also dealing with a problem with George Russell’s car at that moment and admitted that they should have instructed Antonelli to increase his pace.
As no other driver was prejudiced by the episode, the stewards chose to apply only a warning to the championship leader, without any additional impact on the starting grid.
Mercedes can still appeal the decision within the deadlines provided by the FIA International Sporting Code.
Check out the provisional grid for the 2026 Hungarian GP:
1. Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1min17s207
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1min17s445
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1min17s684
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1min17s725
5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)*, 1min17s219
6. George Russell (Mercedes), 1min17s760
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)**, 1min17s479
8. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1min17s856
9. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1min18s281
10. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1min18s686
11. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1min18s765
12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1min18s844
13. Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1min19s027
14. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), 1min19s105
15. Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1min19s734
16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda), 1min19s808
17. Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1min20s233
18. Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), 1min20s621
19. Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1min20s658
20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), 1min20s659
21. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1min20s886
22. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1min21s322
* Penalized with a three-position loss for impeding Oscar Piastri during qualifying.
** Penalized with a three-position loss for not sufficiently reducing speed under yellow flag.
Read more F1: Check out the images from this Saturday of the Hungarian GP 2026
