SAKHIR, Bahrain – Mercedes racers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli have each been handed a one-place grid penalty for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday. This decision comes after they initially qualified in second and fourth positions.
The penalties were issued because Mercedes released both drivers into the pit lane fast lane prematurely as qualifying was restarting after a red flag. This action is against safety regulations.
As a result of these penalties, Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc is now promoted to second place on the grid, and Pierre Gasly of Alpine moves up to fourth.
The red flag during qualifying was caused by Esteban Ocon`s crash in his Haas car during Q2.
Mercedes explained that they misinterpreted the FIA`s `estimated restart time` as the actual time for the session to resume.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, had expressed hope after qualifying that the drivers would not be penalized for what he acknowledged was a team error.
`There is no precedent for this specific situation,` Wolff stated. `It`s a new rule, and we awaited the stewards` decision. We hoped the drivers wouldn`t be penalized, as the mistake was on our part.`
During the meeting with stewards, Mercedes representative Andrew Shovlin argued that the team simply misunderstood the session restart time and insisted that no competitive advantage was gained.
However, the stewards stated that releasing cars early could be seen as a sporting advantage, potentially allowing a team to execute their run plan when others might not.
The stewards acknowledged that `the breach was unintentional and a genuine mistake,` but clarified that a penalty was necessary to deter teams from prematurely releasing cars based on estimated restart times.
The verdict also mentioned that `a similar breach under different circumstances could lead to a more severe penalty in the future.`
Revised Bahrain GP Grid, Top 10
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Carlos Sainz, Williams
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
Rupert Caldwell 
Tristan Blackwood