A race led like a veteran by Antonelli, who, starting from sixteenth, managed to climb up to fourth place.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli firmly takes the front page of the Australian Grand Prix. The young Mercedes driver made an incredible comeback, starting from sixteenth position and finishing in fourth place after overtaking Albon in the final laps of a crazy race. The 5-second penalty (for unsafe release) initially given to the Italian was removed, and now the fourth place is official.
After the qualifying issues, caused by a too-low floor and a loss of at least three tenths, the Italian driver made a great comeback by racing with very few mistakes, allowing him to finish the race brilliantly, unlike the other rookies who couldn’t finish the Grand Prix due to the crazy conditions of the Melbourne circuit.
An unexpected and surprising result for Antonelli, who, at the end of the race, made these statements: “I’m happy. It’s a shame about the penalty (which was removed thanks to Mercedes’ appeal), because it would have been a fourth place, a result I didn’t expect starting so far back, but I knew that with the rain, anything could happen. I’m happy with how the race went, the team did an amazing job, guiding me extraordinarily in all the conditions we faced today. I’m happy with how we managed everything, and now, I can’t wait to get back in the car in China.”
Antonelli’s comeback is the best by a rookie in the last 23 years of Formula 1. Before him, it was Webber who had the best result, securing an incredible fifth place with Minardi after starting from the eighteenth position.
Photo: X Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team