Mercedes managed to overturn the penalty given to Kimi Antoneri, who promoted him to fourth place at the Australian Grand Prix after earning the rights to review.
Antonelli was given a five-second penalty for an unsafe release at the end of the race. Mercedes moved quickly, quickly to try and review the penalty, and the petition proved to have a new important and relevant element that is not available at the time of the decision.
The element was footage of an Antoneri car’s roll hoop camera, which was not available at the time of the incident, and only the race after the F1 technical team could be downloaded.
The incident also included Nico Halkenberg, who was deemed to have been released on the stake driver path. However, the steward believes the footage shows that the release is not safe.
“In addition to looking into the new video, Steward has decided to reverse his previous decision as he has previously been unavailable and has considered additional videos taken from the helicopter,” Steward’s document read. “The result is a penalty for Car 12 with Document No. 43 and no further action is required.
“It is clear that only after the car 12 closed the pit lane quite a distance and the driver checked the mirror to confirm clearance at car 27 would it be that car 12 did it have to cross the highway lane. The roll hoop camera shows there is enough space to safely pass through the McLaren pit without the risk of McLaren mechanics.”
Antonelli started 16th in the race on Sunday and finished fourth in the second half of the race, but was unable to clear five seconds before finishing.
The penalty reversal also saw McLaren move Mercedes’ levels with McLaren in the Constructors Championship with points, and McLaren advanced with 27 points courtesy of 25 people who came from the victory of Randorris.