Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix after crashing into Max Verstappen on the opening lap in Austria.

The Mercedes rookie locked his rear tyres heading into Turn 3 and shunted into Verstappen, leading to both cars retiring from the grand prix.

Antonelli accepted blame and apologised to his Red Bull rival but, after the race, the stewards decided that the collision was solely the fault of the Italian, giving him a grid drop at Silverstone next Sunday, as well as two penalty points on his licence as a result.

“The stewards heard from the driver of car 12 (Kimi Antonelli), the team representative, and reviewed video evidence. The driver of car 12 locked up the rear brakes into Turn 3 and collided with car 1,” a repo

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