Kimi Antonelli brought his Mercedes home for what became a P6 finish in China, and secured Driver of the Day.

And it was only after the chequered flag that the 18-year-old found out he had been carrying floor damage on his Mercedes W16 through the race.

Kimi Antonelli: Mercedes right not to inform him of damage?

Antonelli had initially crossed the line P8, but found himself boosted two spots in the final classification after Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified, over excessive skidblock wear and an underweight car respectively.

And while a few eyebrows were raised, Antonelli was also voted Driver of the Day by the fans.

Replying “that’s weird” after Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told him of his Driver of the Day award over Mercedes radio, the Italian teenager later revealed that there was some information that had not been relayed to him.

Asked by Sky F1 to confirm that he didn’t know he was carrying floor damage, Antonelli replied: “Yeah, they didn’t want to tell me so I wouldn’t panic, probably.

“I could feel something was weird from Lap 1. Yesterday was front limitation, front left, and today, I was really struggling with the rear for the whole race, which was quite unusual. I found it really weird.

“But yeah, then it was really hard to keep up, especially I was really trying to save the rears as much as possible.

“It was a difficult race overall. But, now it’s time to reset and come back stronger in Japan.”

Asked if it can be taken as a source of satisfaction that he produced this race despite the damage, Antonelli replied: “Yeah, now, I need to see how much was that damage.

“But overall, it was mentally, a good lesson. It was a good experience as well, because it was tough. And also trying not to do mistakes was difficult. But yeah, now full focus to Japan.”

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George Russell meanwhile made it back-to-back podiums for Mercedes, as he delivered another untroubled drive to P3.

“I was really happy to be honest,” he told Sky F1 of his race.

“We know we’re not quite in that fight, and P3 is by far the maximum. P3 today, really, really strong race I thought, and obviously finishing six or seven seconds ahead of Max [Verstappen], and held off the Ferraris. Good little battle with Lando [Norris] at the start and around the pit-stops.

“But you know, we were just very decisive with the decisions in committing to the one-stop pretty early.”

Russell briefly had a sniff of P2 as a McLaren brake pedal problem set in for Norris, but despite crossing the line just over a second behind Norris, Russell believes his compatriot was always in control.

“Yeah, I was told,” he confirmed on Norris’ issue, “but, you know, I was driving full gas.

“I think half the lap, would have passed him, but I think he knew the gap, and he managed it well, and ultimately, we didn’t deserve to finish higher than P3, so I’m very happy with that result.”

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