Mercedes has successfully overturned a five-second penalty imposed on Kimi Antonelli during the recent Australian Grand Prix, eleveting him to fourth place after winning a right of review. Initially, Antonelli's penalty for unsafe release had dropped him from fourth to fifth, behind Alex Albon, at the race's conclusion on March 16, 2025.
The swift action by Mercedes showcased their commitment to securing Antonelli's position. They presented strong grounds for the appeal, focusing on new footage from Antonelli’s car’s roll hoop camera, which was not available immediately post-race but obtained later by F1’s technical team. This footage revealed insights unconsidered during the original decision.
The stewards concluded after reviewing the new video evidence, stating, "Having examined the new video, plus additional video previously not available to the stewards and taken from the helicopter, the stewards decide to reverse the previous decision." The document also underscored, "It is clear Car 12 did not cross the fast lane until significantly down the pit lane and only after the driver checked his mirror to confirm clearance with Car 27 [Hulkenberg]." This ruling restored Antonelli's fourth-place finish, giving Mercedes equal points to McLaren, who remains ranked higher owing to their driver Lando Norris's standout performance.
Meanwhile, the Australian GP weekend proved promising for Red Bull Racing as well. Team principal Christian Horner expressed satisfaction with Max Verstappen's third-place qualifying result, achieved on March 15, 2025. Verstappen actually led the session early on but was unable to hold off the McLaren drivers, who were exceptional during the last runs of qualifying.
Horner reflected positively on Verstappen's performance, saying, "Very encouraging for Max. I mean to have the provisional pole on the first run. He always felt like the McLaren’s had a stronger lap time, and fair play to them; they put in both strong laps at the end of qualifying. But I thought Max did a very good job." One aspect of the qualifying session highlighted by Horner was the minor performance gap, noting, "There’s maybe another tenth in the car, but I think we’re taking probably too much out of the tyres in the first two sectors, especially since McLaren’s very strong in the last sector."
All eyes now shift to the rookie driver, Liam Lawson, who had less favorable fortunes during his first qualifying session with Red Bull. Despite expectations, Lawson could not advance beyond Q1 and ended up with the 18th starting position. Horner defended his new recruit, attributing his struggles to unforeseen challenges. He mentioned, "It's unfortunate. He missed the whole of FP3 because of a technical issue, and then you are immediately on the back foot."
Lawson's challenge was only heightened by his lack of experience at the Melbourne circuit, leaving him as the only driver on the grid without familiarity with this track. Horner stated, "His first run was pretty decent considering the lack of mileage, but then unfortunately, mistakes on the second and third run meant he just missed out today. But that's not representative of what he’s capable of." The pressure was intense, but Horner added hope, claiming, "Hopefully, he can have a reasonable run tomorrow."
This weekend's performances not only reflected individual talents but shaped the competitive dynamics between the top teams. With Mercedes and Red Bull pushing boundaries for improvement and confirmation of their standing, and McLaren establishing dominance through significant points scoring, the stage is set for more thrilling races as the season progresses.