Mercedes star handed double penalty in off-season racing outing

Daniel Prince, who spoke to the BBC about the outing of the Mercedes driver, confirmed he was handed two penalties for pushing too hard. The Daytona circuit staff also stated the penalties resulted in Antonelli missing out on a podium finish.

"He actually got two penalties for pushing too hard, so he didn't finish on the podium at the end of it,” he began.

"But he did get the fastest lap of the race by at least three seconds,” he added.

Prince added that when Antonelli revealed his identity, he was swarmed by the karting drivers, and circuit officials had to step in.

"Everyone really mobbed him, so a member of staff quickly rescued him and put him behind the desk for a cheeky photo by our celebrity leaderboard, and then he ran away,” he concluded.

Antonelli took part in the SODI D40 go-karting endurance race at the Milton Keynes circuit. The young Italian driver racing under the pseudonym Henry Shovlin eclipsed the lap record by over three seconds.

The benchmark time of 1:24.5 set by the Mercedes driver was also more than five seconds quicker than that of Williams Racing driver Alex Albon, who had raced at the karting circuit under similar conditions.

Former F1 team boss Giancarlo Minardi has backed Antonelli to be a major protagonist in the 2026 season.

The 78-year-old, in his assessment, highlighted the development of the young driver and tipped him for significant success in the upcoming season.

With the post-2025 season finale action and reaction continuing, our paddock update is the place to be.

Follow our channels on YouTube and Spotify to stay up to date with all the happenings as they unfold following the final Grand Prix of the campaign.

Check out the latest episode of our paddock update here 👇