Formula 1 rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli made right on a frustrating qualifying performance by surviving a meteorological gauntlet during Sunday’s (March 16) Australian Grand Prix en route to a fourth-place finish.
Antonelli came to the checkered flag in fourth place on the track, just behind his Mercedes teammate, George Russell. However, during the race’s final lap, Antonelli was issued a 5-second time penalty for an unsafe release in the pits, which demoted him to fourth to the benefit of Alexander Albon. This penalty was later undone after the race.
“It was a really, really eventful race,” Antonelli told Sky Sports after the race. “We got all the possible conditions for our first race. Definitely not an easy one, but super happy. The team did a great job. I was happy also, even though I made a couple of mistakes which cost me a bit of time, especially with the speed, but I have to say conditions were super, super tricky.
“Otherwise, really happy. The team guided me really well throughout the whole race and, now, looking forward to China.”
P16 ➡️ P5
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2025
What a drive from Kimi Antonelli on debut for @MercedesAMGF1!! 👏#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/BkBLeXpCf8
Antonelli endured a dreadful qualifying experience on Saturday and lined up 16th on the grid after damaging the underbody of his Mercedes during Q1. He was running 10th by lap 34 of the race when Fernando Alonso crashed in the track’s second sector and brought out the safety car.
The Italian pitted for hard tires on lap 35 and dove to the pits at the end of lap 44 when leaders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri went spinning as rain began to hammer Albert Park. Being among the first group of drivers to pit for intermediate tires as the rain returned cycled Antonelli to eighth before both Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto crashed separately on lap 47 which triggered another safety car period.
To this point, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda had all opted to stay out on slick tires in an effort to reach the dry period that was expected on the other side of the storm in three or four laps’ time. When those three pitted under the final safety car period, Antonelli was bumped up to fifth place directly behind Albon.
Despite his late pass on Albon being nullified, for the time being, by the penalty for an unsafe release in the pits, Antonelli’s appraisal of the weekend was positive.
“I was really happy with the progression I was having in free practices,” Antonelli said regarding his progress with Mercedes thus far. “Of course, qualifying was disappointing with what happened and I think I could have managed a bit better as well from my side but it was really good experience. Today was also a good experience to see what happens from the back and the way I can manage to progress. So definitely really, really good learning and I cannot complain about the results.”
At the end of the day, Antonelli was one of only two rookies to see the checkered flag along with Oliver Bearman who finished 14th. The remaining four rookies all saw their races end early as Isack Hadjar crashed out on the formation lap, Jack Doohan crashed on the first lap, and Bortoleto and Lawson’s respective spins on lap 47 ended both of their races.
Antonelli will enter the second round of the season fifth in the World Drivers’ Championship with 10 points to his name.
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.