Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the highest-placed rookie in the Australian Grand Prix, after he finished in fourth place ahead of Alex Albon.
The Mercedes driver climbed 12 places after suffering a disappointing qualifying session, in which he was knocked out in Q1 by Gabriel Bortoleto after he picked up damage to the floor of his W16.
Like the six other rookies in the Australian Grand Prix, Antonelli found the conditions on Sunday challenging as they had to find their way around the 3.2-mile circuit without crashing.
| Driver | Finishing position |
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 5th (4th on the road, issued a five-second time penalty for unsafe release) |
| Oliver Bearman | 14th |
| Liam Lawson | Crashed at Turn 2 on Lap 45 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | Crashed at Turn 13 on Lap 44 |
| Jack Doohan | Crashed at Turn 5 on Lap 1 |
| Isack Hadjar | DNS after crashing on formation lap |
Isack Hadjar dropped out before the race even began when he crashed his Racing Bulls car at Turn 2 on the formation lap, with the impact damaging his rear wing and suspension. Lewis Hamilton’s father consoled Hadjar in the F1 paddock, telling him to keep his head high.
Three other rookies would end up crashing out of the race, leading to over half not making it to the chequered flag in their first Grand Prix.
There were several close calls in the race, but there was one that showed Antonelli’s impressive skill just moments before a big crash for Alpine driver Jack Doohan.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli makes a save moments before Jack Doohan crash
Doohan was racing Lance Stroll for 12th on the opening lap of the race, when he lost the rear of his Alpine exiting the high-speed right-hander at Turn 5.
The Alpine appeared to get wheelspin on the painted lines, which also caught out Hadjar and Liam Lawson, on the Intermediate tyres.
Doohan was effectively a passenger, with his Alpine spearing into the barrier and putting an end to his F1 debut after five corners.
Antonelli was directly behind Doohan and also got caught out by the white lines, but unseen onboard footage shows the Mercedes driver collect his W16 by applying full opposite-lock on the steering wheel as his car rotates to the right.
The Mercedes went sideways briefly before Antonelli was able to straighten up and avoid Doohan’s stricken Alpine, showing a similar wet weather skill level to Max Verstappen’s famous save during the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix which Martin Brundle said ‘rewrote the textbook’ on wet weather driving.
Mercedes successfully overturn Kimi Antonelli penalty in Australian GP
Antonelli was fourth crossing the line at Albert Park, but he was demoted to fifth after a five-second time penalty was applied to his race time.
The time penalty was due to an unsafe release that happened during his final pit stop, with the stewards deeming that his mechanics released him dangerously into the path of Nico Hulkenberg.
READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats
After the race, Mercedes lodged a right to review the penalty and presented them with Antonelli’s roll hoop onboard camera as new evidence that wasn’t available to the stewards at the time.
The stewards would go on to overturn the penalty and award Antonelli fourth, after they deemed he was significantly ahead of Hulkenberg when he rejoined the fast lane.
