Kimi Antonelli Handed Three-Place Grid Penalty After Hungarian GP Qualifying Yellow Flag Breach

The stewards of the Hungarian Grand Prix have handed Kimi Antonelli a three-place grid penalty for Sunday's race and added one penalty point to his super licence for failing to reduce his speed sufficiently under yellow flags during the closing stages of qualifying, following Max Verstappen's spin.During the hearing, the Mercedes driver explained that he lifted off the throttle and reduced his speed as soon as he saw the yellow flags and the illuminated warning panel, doing so earlier than he had on the previous lap. Telemetry data confirmed his account. However, the stewards determined that the reduction in speed was too brief, meaning Antonelli's overall speed through the incident zone was actually higher than it had been on the previous lap.Ordinarily, such an infringement would result in a five-place grid penalty. However, the stewards took into account that Antonelli had made an attempt to slow down, even though it was deemed insufficient. They also noted that he had very little time to react after the yellow flags were displayed and, as a result, imposed the lesser penalty of a three-place grid drop.