Antonelli reprimanded for FP3 erractic driving at Barcelona-Catalunya GP

Mercedes’ championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, has been reprimanded for driving erratically during final practice at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Feature image credit: Mercedes

Near the end of the final hour of practice in Barcelona, Antonelli was set to be investigated by the stewards after he allegedly drove erratically, when he encountered traffic on a flying lap.

Over team radio, Antonelli was heard to be frustrated with the amount of traffic he encountered at turn one, claiming he came up to four cars on his lap, before returning to the pit lane.

However, it was later confirmed by the FIA that Antonelli drove erratically after he was hindered by the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, and the Italian applied the brakes to prevent the Canadian from overtaking.

Antonelli reportedly did this in frustration and apologised for the incident. In the stewards’ decision, they said:

“Car 12 [Antonelli] was impacted by Car 18 [Stroll] when approaching turn 1.

“After passing Car 18, the driver of Car 12 applied the brakes in front of Car 18 and prevented the latter from passing. This is deemed driving in an erratic manner.

“The driver admitted during the hearing that he acted out of frustration and apologised for his action”

Russell returns to top in FP3 at Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

Antonelli heads into Qualifying after a troubled weekend as the championship leader struggled to find the pace around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Having missed the opening hour of practice, due to being substituted with Fred Vesti for his FP1 rookie mandate, Antonelli finished P5 in FP2, five tenths off the pace of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

This lack of pace continued on Saturday afternoon, despite the hindered run, as the Italian could only best seventh, eight-tenths behind George Russell’s best time.

Qualifying will get underway at 4pm, local time.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Why are McLaren and Red Bull looking to appeal FIA Decision?
• Mercedes ‘assessing’ after Gasly Monaco P3 is reinstated
• Pierre Gasly elated despite ‘challenging’ practice at Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
• Honda set to lose $3million in upgrades as Aston Martin miss out on ADUO boost.
• Norris fastest by 0.009s ahead of Russell at Barcelona-Catalunya GP
• Russell tops first practice ahead of Piastri at Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
• Pirelli remain F1 tyre supplier until 2028

Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from ApexMotorsports.co.uk!

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.

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.