Championship leader Kimi Antonelli is unlikely to feature in the fight for victory at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix on home soil.
Antonelli will line up at the rear of the grid after exceeding the four power units permitted per season, triggering an automatic grid penalty.
The Mercedes driver’s 59-point advantage over teammate George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton could be substantially reduced, while a third consecutive victory for McLaren’s Lando Norris might allow the reigning world champion to claw back significant ground from his current 83-point deficit to Antonelli.
With Mercedes confirming that Antonelli is taking a grid penalty for an engine change at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, here is an explanation of why the championship leader has chosen to do so at his home event.
Why does Antonelli need to take a penalty?
Mercedes have generally had the fastest car for much of this season, particularly in the early stages, but the W17 has been plagued by problems.
Antonelli suffered an electrical shutdown while running in second place at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in June, which damaged one engine.
Mercedes then identified an issue with his engine following July’s British Grand Prix, prompting the team to install a fourth engine at the Belgian Grand Prix three races ago, putting Antonelli already at the limit before any penalties applied.
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Kimi Antonelli goes past Mercedes team-mate George Russell before retiring from the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with an engine failure
Why is Antonelli starting at the back?
F1 power units consist of several separate components. Had Mercedes only replaced the internal combustion engine, which would be Antonelli’s fifth of the year, the Italian would have faced a 10-place grid drop.
However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed Antonelli will “take the full thing”, meaning the team will also swap additional components that exceed their respective limits, including the energy store and control electronics. Each of those carries a five-place penalty, bringing the total to 20 grid positions.
Once a driver incurs a penalty of 15 places or more, the FIA automatically places them at the back of the grid, which will be Antonelli’s fate at Monza.
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Why have Mercedes chosen Monza?
Monza features long straights, making overtaking considerably easier than at the upcoming street circuits of Madrid and Baku.
At the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas charged from the back to the podium after an engine change, while Max Verstappen won from 14th at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.
“Monza is an energy-starved circuit with four overtaking zones. A driver cannot defend all of them, so a faster car should be able to make progress relatively straightforwardly,” explained Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin on the team’s Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show.
“The primary factor is when the hardware is needed. We have lost internal combustion engines at relatively low mileage, so we know we must introduce new components by a certain point. If that falls at a circuit where starting at the back would be particularly costly, we may choose to bring the change forward.”
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Mercedes team-mates Kimi Antonelli and George Russell reflect on their Dutch Grand Prix race
What about Russell’s engine situation?
Russell finds himself in a similar situation to Antonelli and will also incur grid penalties for exceeding his engine allocation later in the season.
Russell will definitely not join Antonelli at the back of the grid this weekend, as Mercedes continue to assess the British driver’s situation.
“We must manage the remaining events so that both cars reach the end of the season with the freshest and best-performing hardware possible,” said deputy team principal Bradley Lord.
“It is a constant trade-off between the risk of running high-mileage components and the points cost of taking a grid penalty and recovering through the field.”
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Italian Grand Prix
