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Live sport on SN this weekendAntonelli and Mercedes avoids grid penalty following loose part
SEN •  March 8th, 2026 12:51 pm
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli will hold on to his front row spot at the Australian Grand Prix following an investigation from the stewards after his cooling fan came off his car.
After a big crash during FP3, which saw plenty of debris across the track from Antonelli's car, the Mercedes mechanics were in a race against time to try and get the car ready for qualifying later in the day.
Image credit: F1
Somehow, the car was drivable for the first qualifying session, having been helped by Max Verstappen's crash during Q1, which saw Mercedes claim spots 1 and 2 with George Russell taking pole.
But it wouldn't be without controversy.
During Q3, Antonelli's duct cooling fan on the right side would disconnect and fall off the car while going around turns 1 and 2.
That resulted in McLaren's Lando Norris then running over it, resulting in damage to his front wing and saw the session red-flagged to clean up the debris.
Having breached Article B1.6.2 b) i) of the FIA's F1 regulations, Mercedes have been fined €7,500 (just over $12,000 AUD) but did incur a grid penalty for the incident.
The race will officially get underway from 3pm AEDT with SEN.com.au covering all the big moments from our Australian Grand Prix live blog.
Australian Oscar Piastri will start the race from fifth place.
