Formula 1 in Bahrain
Due to the violation of the rule: FIA punishes Mercedes pilot
04/12/2025 – 11:17 p.m.Reading time: 1 min.
The qualification for the Bahrain Grand Prix actually ended with pleasant results for Mercedes. But later the World Automobile Association stepped in. Reason: a scene after an accident.
For George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, Bahrain’s Grand Prix begins with a damper. Both Mercedes pilots each lose a starting position-because of a violation of a rule in qualifying.
On Saturday evening, the FIA automotive association announced that Russell and Antonelli were sent from the pit lane to the route too early in the second section of qualifying. The reason for this was an incident before: Haas driver Esteban Ocon had triggered a red flag with an accident, whereupon the session was interrupted.
When the training was resumed, the Mercedes duo left the garage before the official remaining home announced. This gave the team an advantage over the competition that was waiting for the signal of the race management.
The result: Russell starts the race on Sunday (from 5 p.m. in the live ticker at T-Online) as initially planned in front of Charles Leclerc, but in third place behind the Ferrari driver. Antonelli slides back to five. The pole position won McLaren driver Oscar Piatri.