Russell and Antonelli get grid penalty for pit lane breach at Bahrain GP
12th April 2025The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have been given a one-place grid drop for the Bahrain Grand Prix, following infringements in the pit lane.
Feature image credit: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
In qualifying, the proceedings were halted as Haas’ Esteban Ocon crashed into the barrier at turn three, in Q2, resulting in a red flag. When the action was set to resume, the Mercedes duo were already in the pit lane, before a confirmed resumption time was given.
Following the meeting with the stewards, it was decided that both drivers, Antonelli and Russell, were to be given sporting penalties for the infringement, with a punishment of a one-place grid drop.
It was reported that the drivers were excused from attending.
The report said:
“The team representative, Mr Shovlin, in evidence stated that he gave the instruction for the cars to be released, in error, having misinterpreted the message posted on page 3 of the Timing Screen, “estimated re-start time” to be a message advising the actual re-start time.
“He argued that there was no sporting advantage gained in this case as there was sufficient time remaining (11 minutes) for other teams to perform their run plans.
“It was also noted that the team’s Sporting Director, Mr Meadows, was not present at the event and that normally he would be involved in the release process.”
However, the FIA Single Seater Sporting Director claimed it could be used as a sporting advantage, contradicting Mercedes’ point.
The FIA Sporting Director argued that this incident required a sporting penalty rather than a team fine, to avoid teams repeating the offence in the future.
Despite Shovlin’s negotiation to argue a possibility of a non-sporting penalty, on the condition that it is not set as a precedent, the Stewards awarded both drivers a grid penalty. However, they agreed with the Mercedes representative’s point that the penalty ‘should be mitigated.’
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In the conclusion of their report, the stewards said:
“The Stewards agreed with the view that this breach required a sporting penalty; however accept that the breach was unintentional and a genuine mistake by the team for which Mr Shovlin apologised.
“We decide to impose a one position grid penalty. A similar breach in different circumstances, could entail a more severe sporting penalty, in future.”
This means Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will now start second, alongside McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, as Russell drops to third. Antonelli will now start fifth as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly will be promoted to fourth.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- F1 Bahrain Grand Prix / Qualifying – Results
- Piastri snatches Bahrain GP F1 pole away from Russell
- Bahrain Grand Prix / Free Practice 3 – Results
- McLaren completes clean sweep with Piastri fastest in FP3 of Bahrain GP
- FIA confirm changes to Race Director notes at Bahrain GP
- Piastri heads Norris for McLaren 1-2 at Bahrain GP FP2
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
