Mercedes has decided against contesting Kimi Antonelli's five-second track limits penalty from the British Grand Prix. The team accepted the sanction following an internal review.
At Silverstone, Antonelli was running second when handling issues from a broken front-left wheel shield caused multiple track limits breaches. Stewards imposed the standard five-second penalty for the fourth infringement on lap 44 at Turn 6, dropping him from ninth to 16th.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff initially indicated the team might seek to have the penalty rescinded due to the mechanical problem. After the post-race debrief, however, the team concluded the penalty was justified given the number of excursions.
Team-mate George Russell finished second at the race and now trails Antonelli by 25 points in the championship. Russell stated that his own performances must improve if he is to challenge for the 2026 title.
