Kimi Antonelli reveals Mercedes' F1 grid penalty decision

With each team allocated only a certain number of changes to their power units, both Mercedes' drivers Antonelli and George Russell are at risk of receiving a grid penalty given recent reliability concerns. Despite this, Mercedes lead the Constructors' by 72 points, while Antonelli has a 50-point gap at the top of the Drivers'.

Antonelli moved onto his fourth and final power unit allocation at the penultimate race prior to F1's summer break at Spa-Francorchamps, as Mercedes spotted an issue after an investigation. The 19-year-old also suffered a power unit-related DNF in Barcelona to bring his five-race winning streak to an end in June.

His Mercedes teammate Russell faces a similar situation, having suffered a water leak at Hungarian GP Qualifying last time out - and forced to take his fourth power unit of the 2026 season.

It may be his home race, but Italy hasn't exactly been a happy hunting ground for Antonelli thus far in his F1 career. In 2024, on the same weekend he was announced as Mercedes' replacement for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli suffered a huge 52G crash just ten minutes into his FP1 debut.

In 2025, his rookie season, a throttle issue saw him fail to finish at the Emilia-Romagna GP, while he could only finish P9 at Monza later in the year, having again crashed in practice and receiving a five-second penalty for an incident with Alex Albon during the race.

This year, while Monza remains a good track in terms of overtaking opportunities, the teenage sensation ought to have his work cut out once again, confirming to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport that he will take a grid penalty at the 'Temple of Speed', which follows this weekend's Dutch GP on the F1 calendar. “We'll do it in Monza. It's one of the easiest tracks to overtake," Antonelli said.