Antonelli keeps fifth at São Paulo GP after five-second unsafe-release penalty

News Summary

• Andrea Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release involving Franco Colapinto at Interlagos.
• The stewards found that Antonelli was entitled to drive parallel to the fast lane, but briefly lost control and had to take evasive action.
• Antonelli keeps fifth. The updated 22-driver classification also incorporates the penalties for Charles Leclerc and Oliver Bearman.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty after Mercedes released him from his pit box as Franco Colapinto approached in the fast lane at Interlagos. Antonelli briefly lost control on the slippery surface and had to take action to avoid a collision, the stewards found. They added five seconds to his race time in document 80, issued at 18:23 local time.

Antonelli keeps fifth place and 10 points. He crossed the line 20.458s ahead of sixth-placed Oscar Piastri, so the penalty leaves a gap of 15.458s between them. His corrected margin to race winner Lando Norris is 41.017s.

What made Antonelli’s release unsafe

The incident happened at 15:36 local time, with rain back at Interlagos and drivers returning to the pits for intermediates. Colapinto’s Alpine was already approaching in the fast lane as Antonelli pulled out of the Mercedes box. The stewards heard from Antonelli and team representatives and reviewed video and onboard footage.

The ruling turned on what happened once the Mercedes began moving. The stewards said Antonelli was entitled to travel parallel to cars in the fast lane. On the slippery surface, however, he “momentarily lost control” and had to take steps to avoid a collision.

Mercedes acknowledged that it could have handled the release more safely. The stewards found a breach of Article B1.6.2a of the FIA Formula 1 Regulations and applied the time penalty to Antonelli.

Mercedes keeps its 22 points from Interlagos

Antonelli had taken the lead from pole-sitter Norris at the start, then lost it when he spun at the Senna S. He eventually finished behind George Russell, whose fourth place brought Mercedes 12 points. Together, the pair’s 22 points secured the constructors’ championship, as detailed in the São Paulo GP race report.

Of the three post-race five-second penalties, Charles Leclerc’s is the one that changes the finishing order. Liam Lawson moves up to seventh and Leclerc falls to eighth after their contact at Junção. Oliver Bearman stays 17th after his separate unsafe-release penalty. The Leclerc–Lawson swap takes Ferrari to 510 points and Racing Bulls to 114 in the post-race championship standings.

2026 São Paulo Grand Prix — Full results after the confirmed penalties

The table applies stewards’ documents 78, 79 and 80 to the FIA’s provisional classification. Bearman’s corrected elapsed time is 1:36:55.215. His gap is shown as one lap because he completed 70 laps.

GRANDE PRÊMIO is following the São Paulo Grand Prix stewards’ decisions in Formula 1.