Explained: Why was Kimi Antonelli given a 5-second penalty during the F1 Australian GP?

Kimi Antonelli started the race in 16th place and made his way up the field to take the chequered flag in P4. However, a five-second penalty was handed out to the debutant, which dropped him to fifth place in the final classification, for an unsafe release.

The 18-year-old started from the rear of the field but quickly moved past the midfield drivers in the subsequent laps. Despite his pace advantage initially, he was stuck behind Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg for a fair share of the race.

After initially getting past the German on lap 14, Antonelli lost his car in the traction zone on the subsequent lap, allowing the 37-year-old to get past him. This started a race-long battle with him, which came to blows in the pit road.

On lap 45, the Italian drove into the pits to get on the intermediate tires for the damp track. Nico Hulkenberg followed him in, and due to a slightly slower stop at the Mercedes pitbox, Kimi Antonelli was released into the way of the Sauber driver.

The unsafe release into the path of Hulkenberg violated the FIA Sporting Regulation 34.14, and was penalized with a five-second penalty. This seemed costly for the Italian as his high of finishing P4 turned to a P5, reducing his points tally by two.

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A great debut for Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli at the F1 Grand Prix Of Australia - Source: Getty

Despite getting a penalty in the latter phase of the race, the 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli did a stellar job on his debut. He climbed up 11 spots to finish P5 and was one of the two rookies to finish the race, apart from Oliver Bearman.

Former Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who joined Ferrari over the winter break, had an abysmal Grand Prix. The Briton started eighth and led the race at one point. However, his fortunes turned as rain increased, and he finished the race in tenth.

This helped Kimi Antonelli's case of being a replacement to the seven-time champion in the Brackley-based squad. Though there is still a lot to prove for the teenager in the F1 realm, his early results are pointing toward an upward trajectory.

On the other hand, Lando Norris emerged victorious at the season opener after leading the most laps. While he had to contend with threats from his teammate and Max Verstappen, the Briton displayed control over his racecraft and brought home the victory for the Woking-based squad.

The next race of the 2025 F1 season is scheduled for next week at the Shanghai International Circuit. Verstappen is the reigning winner at the Chinese Grand Prix, which Norris would like to change on March 23.