Andrea Kimi Antonelli made a remarkable debut in Formula 1 at Melbourne. The 18-year-old driver for Mercedes started in 16th place and received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release during a pit stop. However, Mercedes contested the stewards' decision, and it was successfully overturned.

Stepping in as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement, Antonelli navigated a chaotic race filled with crashes and managed to cross the finish line. Thanks to the overturned penalty, he held onto his fourth-place finish, just behind his teammate George Russell, who secured third place on the podium.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff praised the young driver, saying, “He handled it well, picked off competitors one by one, showed great speed when there was no traffic, and ultimately finished P4, which is impressive.”

Wolff added, “Even experienced drivers spun out or hit the wall, making it easier to not finish than to finish, but he stayed composed. It was really impressive to watch, and it indicates he has a bright future ahead if he keeps progressing like this.”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff responds to the penalty

Wolff was really upset about the first penalty, stating, “You can only shake your head. It was called an incident, but no one actually saw it, it wasn’t even played out, and then 90 seconds later, they handed out a five-second penalty.”

Lando Norris took the top spot, while Max Verstappen finished in second. On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton had a rough start with Ferrari, managing to secure just the last point.

Kimi Antonelli said, "I really have no complaints about today."

Antonelli was really pleased with how things went after the race. “We faced the toughest conditions for our first race. We dealt with wet tracks, slick tires on damp surfaces, slicks on wet, and then back to wet again. It was definitely a super eventful race. But I’m really happy with how I handled it and how the team performed,” he shared.

“I can’t complain about today at all,” he added.

Following their successful appeal, Mercedes has plenty to celebrate, especially with Russell’s strong performance earning him his first podium of the season.

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