Kimi Antonelli said he was “super sorry” for taking Max Verstappen out of the Austrian Grand Prix as a first-lap collision between the pair earned the Mercedes driver a grid penalty for next weekend’s race at Silverstone.

Antonelli was caught out at Turn 3 as he locked up his tyres and shunted into the Red Bull of a helpless Verstappen, with the resulting damage forcing both to immediately retire from the race.

With the 18-year-old Mercedes driver out of the race in Spielberg, his punishment for causing the collision is delayed until the next round, with the stewards deciding a three-place grid penalty for the British Grand Prix, along with two penalty points, were appropriate.

Antonelli told Sky Sports F1: “I didn’t necessarily brake too late, it’s just that when I braked, I braked hard because I was behind other cars, and in that moment, I locked the rears. Then I just couldn’t stop the car.

“I locked the rear and then lost the car and then had to avoid (Liam) Lawson. Then it was too late because I was arriving just too quick. I started to lock the front and instead of decelerating, I was accelerating. The car was just taking speed, and the crash was inevitable.

“Just feel super sorry to the team, and to Max of course, because obviously he was just a passenger.”

Antonelli was speaking before the stewards had carried out their investigation into the incident, but appeared to be aware a penalty was likely as he focused on returning to form at Silverstone.

He added: “Of course, it’s a big mistake. Now we need to move forward and focus on Silverstone.

“We’ll see if we get a penalty or not, but it’s going to be important to get back and start doing like I did in Canada.”

Verstappen rues ‘unlucky’ weekend

Verstappen had already suffered misfortune on Saturday when his final attempt at a flying lap in qualifying was ruined by Pierre Gasly spinning, leaving the Dutchman seventh on the grid.

He paid the ultimate price for starting in the midfield as he became the helpless victim of Antonelli’s error.

Verstappen told Sky Sports F1: “It’s just unlucky, like yesterday in qualifying.

“But overall, we didn’t really have that great pace anyway this weekend, so a lot of learning for us how we can hopefully do better next weekend. But of course, not an ideal result today.”

The incident was a major blow to Verstappen’s already faint hopes of winning a fifth successive world championship, with his deficit to leader Oscar Piastri growing to 61 points as the Australian finished second to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.

Asked whether Sunday’s race had ended his title hopes, Verstappen said: “Hopefully then people will not mention it too much anymore.

“We try to do our best, always. My mentality doesn’t change. We’ve won a lot in the past.

“Sometimes you have to accept that you are not winning, and we just try to do the best that we can.”

Next up in the 2025 Formula 1 season is the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase with coverage from Thursday to Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.