Kimi Antonelli will not take part in qualifying for the Australian GP.
The last free practice sessions of the Australian GP got started quite late, because the crash that happened in the F3 race forced the track officials to do renovation work.
Only when the safety fence was repaired were the F1 drivers allowed to go.
The schedule was so tight that no one could afford to destroy their car.
However, the message did not reach the Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelliäwho pressed his foot on the gas too quickly at the exit of the second turn.
The rear end of the Silver Arrow came off and the Italian slammed into the concrete fence on the opposite side with tremendous force.
Kimi Antonelli made a terrible mistake. PDO
Antonelli escaped the shock with a start, but his car was practically in salvageable condition.
When qualifying starts after just over two hours, the Mercedes garage has no chance of getting the car repaired in time.
Team manager Toto Wolff a grimace confirmed it.
Antonelli became the first qualifier even before the start of the time trial.
The fastest in the third practice was a teammate George Russell. Valtteri Bottas was slightly faster than the Cadillac counterpart Sergio Perez. The Finn was in 19th place with the most training.
