Piastri was left shattered by the error that extended Australia’s curse at its home race. No Australian has ever been classified on the F1 podium in Melbourne, or Adelaide before it.FIA stewards were forced to backflip on a penalty handed down to Mercedes rookie sensation Kimi Antonelli after he had been penalised late in the […]
Piastri was left shattered by the error that extended Australia’s curse at its home race. No Australian has ever been classified on the F1 podium in Melbourne, or Adelaide before it.FIA stewards were forced to backflip on a penalty handed down to Mercedes rookie sensation Kimi Antonelli after he had been penalised late in the race for an unsafe release in pit lane. Explaining the mistake to written press, Piastri said he was simply trying to “push a bit too much”.The Australian couldn’t engage reverse gear for over a minute and ultimately dropped to the back of the field, while his McLaren teammate ducked into the pits and emerged victorious 13 laps later.Antonelli proved to be one of the stars of the day as he and teammate George Russell impressed behind leading duo Norris and Max Verstappen.
The Italian talent piloted his Mercedes up to fourth position, despite starting the race down in P14.At the age of 18 years and 19 days, he has become the youngest driver to score points in his debut race and the second youngest driver to ever score championship points. 
Andrea Kimi Antonelli muscles in front of Nico Hulkenberg. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images.Source: Getty ImagesHowever, his special day appeared to be soured somewhat when Mercedes were informed on the final lap that he had been handed a five second penalty.It meant his brilliant final-lap overtake on Alex Albon amounted to nothing with Albon promoted up to fourth because of the penalty. However, in a rare move, Mercedes successfully protested the penalty handed down by race officials. Mercedes officials were clearly not happy with the initial ruling and asked for a right of review. Mercedes and Sauber both had representatives front the stewards office where the onus was on Mercedes to present “new, significant and unavailable” evidence. It took only a matter of minutes for the result to be overturned.“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,” an FIA statement said. 
(L to R) Andrea Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris. Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP.Source: AFP“As a result the penalty on Car 12 in Document number 43 is removed and no further action is required.“Reason: It is clear that Car 12 did not cross into the fast lane until a significant distance down the pit lane and only after the driver checked his mirror to confirm clearance with Car 27.”Antonelli won plenty of fans with his drive. Speaking immediately after the race before the protest, Antonelli said: “I’m happy, a shame for the penalty it could have been a P4 which I wasn’t expecting, but I knew with the rain anything could have happened.“The team did a great job and they guided me through the whole race. I’m happy how we managed it”Mercedes were clearly well off the pace of McLaren duo Norris and Oscar Piastri, but were happy with the result of having Russell climb up onto the podium with P3.Hometown hero Piastri missed out after a devastating slide where he appeared to be beached in the muddy conditions at Albert Park. 
Andrea Kimi Antonelli (right) had his penalty overturned. Photo: Getty, Sky Sports.Source: SuppliedPiastri said he was gutted by the dramatic ending to the race which saw him drop out of contention after pressuring teammate Norris for the race lead.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch the 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during racing. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just . Limited time offer.Stewards initially ruled Antonelli had cut off Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg after his final pit stop with the German forced to brake to avoid contact.“And then to get stuck in the grass like that was pretty unbelievable… but I’ve only got myself to blame for being there.”He added: “In those conditions it’s very difficult to judge just how slippery it’s going to be. I think from one lap to the next, it had really changed a lot. And, you know, I could see Lando going off in front of me, but I was also already in the corner, basically. So there wasn’t much I could do to slow myself down at that point.Piastri was running in second on Lap 44 when he followed Norris off the wet track and failed to make it back on cleanly.The final results of the Australian Grand Prix were overturned hours after Lando Norris had claimed victory on Sunday in Melbourne.
