Kimi Antonelli drops to seventh grid after penalty

Formula 1 world championship leader Kimi Antonelli has been demoted to seventh on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix after receiving a three-place grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags during Saturday's qualifying session. The penalty, announced on July 25, 2026, reshapes the starting order for the race at the Hungaroring on July 26.

The incident occurred in the final moments of the third qualifying segment when Red Bull's Max Verstappen spun at the final corner, triggering local yellow warning flags. While Antonelli, who had provisionally qualified fourth, stated he lifted off the throttle earlier upon seeing the flags, stewards determined his speed reduction was inadequate. Telemetry data showed that although he entered the flagged sector 14 km/h slower, he was actually traveling 3 km/h faster when passing Verstappen's stranded car compared to his previous lap. The stewards' verdict noted his mini-sector time was only 0.03 seconds slower than his best, constituting a speed reduction of less than one percent.

In a detailed explanation, stewards wrote that while the driver did make a reduction in speed, it was "insufficient and unsustained." They...