Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): “I don’t think I deserve a penalty”

Mercedes’ dominance has evaporated, at least this afternoon at the Hungaroring: for the first time this season, there is no Mercedes on pole position for a Grand Prix – in fact, not even a Mercedes on the front row.

This means Mercedes narrowly missed out on setting a Formula 1 record at the last minute: had Kimi Antonelli and/or George Russell managed to secure a place on the front row in Hungary, it would have meant the same engine manufacturer starting from the front row for the 39th consecutive time. Renault achieved this before Mercedes at the 1995 Italian Grand Prix and the 1997 European Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli in P4 – that last happened in Austria in 2026 (he went on to finish third). Even during qualifying, there were signs that things weren’t going smoothly for the Italian. The championship leader complained several times over the radio that he wasn’t getting the usual grip from the tyres.

Kimi to his race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington: ‘We need to do something a bit differently here, Bono – I’ve got no grip.’

After the thrilling final practice session, the Mercedes teenager said: “Towards the end, I was on a better lap than before, but to be honest – it probably wouldn’t have been enough for pole this time. I’m sure I could have got past Leclerc.”

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“A gust of wind caught me out at Turn 9, and the car felt unsettled in the final corner because I simply didn’t feel enough grip from the tyres.”

“Ultimately, I was still missing that first practice session, when our reserve driver Frederik Vesti took over. You really need that session, especially on a track like this one, to find a good rhythm. That certainly wasn’t an advantage, but I’m sure I could have got more out of the car here if I’d had that first practice session.”

But then the race stewards stepped in: Garry Connelly and Matthew Selley (both from Australia), Tonio Liuzzi (Italy) and István Móni (Hungary) had to analyse two heated incidents.

Firstly: had Kimi Antonelli lifted off the throttle sufficiently at the spot where Max Verstappen spun? If not, that would have meant a penalty for Kimi.

And: Had Lewis Hamilton really obstructed his rival Oscar Piastri? If so, this would mean a three-place grid penalty, and Kimi would therefore be third on the starting grid rather than fourth.

Kimi said: “The yellow flags were shown just as I was entering the corner. I did my best to ease off the throttle, so I don’t think I deserve a penalty.”

Antonelli is already looking ahead to the Grand Prix. “We’ve got very solid pace in race trim; our chances are still intact.”