Kimi Antonelli now faces high risk of picking up grid penalty after worrying Mercedes suspicion

Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli retired from the Spanish Grand Prix due to an engine failure, which capped the Italian’s disappointing debut European triple-header.

The Bologna boy had been enjoying a remarkable start to his Formula 1 career over the first six rounds of the season. But Antonelli has seen some of the shine fade from his emergence after failing to score a single point through the past three rounds, which included two DNFs.

Antonelli retired due to a throttle sensor issue at Imola, which was particularly upsetting for the 18-year-old with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix his home race. Points were also not up for grabs after Antonelli crashed in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, so he started P15.

Mercedes saw Antonelli discover his pace again at the Spanish GP, as the rookie qualified in P6 and was only 0.263 seconds slower than teammate George Russell who secured P4. But Antonelli suffered an engine failure in the Spanish GP and retired on Lap 55/66 while in P7.

Mercedes suspect Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s engine is not recoverable after his Spanish GP retirement

Now, Antonelli finds himself facing a high likelihood of taking a grid penalty later in the 2025 F1 season, as Mercedes suspect they will not be able to recover the power unit he ran in the Spanish GP. That is according to The Race, which reports that the problem seems ‘terminal’.

READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats

Mercedes were able to recover Antonelli’s engine after his throttle issue forced him to retire at Imola. The Silver Arrows’ High Performance Powertrains team in Brixworth were also able to recover the unit which saw Russell endure an engine failure during qualifying in Monaco.

Russell’s issue in Monaco was due to an engine wiring loom and it should not cost him later in the season. But while Mercedes are still investigating the cause for Antonelli’s retirement from the Spanish GP, he will need a fresh engine for the Canadian Grand Prix on June 13-15.

The unit Mercedes will fit in Antonelli’s W16 in Montreal will fall within his allocated quota for the 2025 F1 season. But the fresh power unit elements he will need in Canada increase the likelihood of Antonelli receiving grid penalties later on this season, with 15 rounds still to go.

How many engine elements have Mercedes drivers Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell used in 2025?

Antonelli was in slightly better position than Mercedes teammate Russell in terms of power unit elements used in the 2025 F1 season going into the Spanish GP last Sunday. Mercedes had been forced to give the Briton one more energy store (ES) and control electronics (CS).

Russell is now on his limit for ES and CS parts used, with drivers allowed just two for the 24-round season without taking a grid penalty. But Antonelli’s engine failure in the Spanish GP now puts the Italian at risk of a grid penalty with his power unit unlikely to be used again.

Before Antonelli’s failure in Spain, both Mercedes drivers had already used two of their four internal combustion engines (ICE) allowed, plus two of their four turbochargers (TC), two of their four MGU-Hs, two of their four MGU-Ks and two of their eight exhaust systems (EX).