Untelevised F1 team radio reveals costly Kimi Antonelli mixup at Austrian Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Canada, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Austrian Grand Prix

Untelevised F1 team radio reveals costly Kimi Antonelli mixup at Austrian Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli was left confused after a costly misunderstanding in Austria

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 28 June 2026 14:27

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Mercedes F1 star Kimi Antonelli was left completely baffled at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, as was his supremely experienced race engineer Peter Bonnington.

Bonnington, or Bono as he is more commonly known, has had the pleasure of working with multiple legends of the sport, including seven-time world champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

The Brit now works closely with Antonelli and is currently guiding him through his first title fight in just his sophomore season in the sport.

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But things didn't go as planned on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring when both the 19-year-old and his Mercedes ally were left confused after Max Verstappen's crash muddied the waters at the end of qualifying.

Now, footage which wasn't aired during Sky Sports' coverage of the messy end to qualifying on Saturday has surfaced on social media, highlighting the extent of the yellow flag mixup at Mercedes.

F1 HEADLINES: Mercedes in FIA breach at Austrian GP as Verstappen gives Russell the finger

What happened at Mercedes during Austrian GP qualifying?

After Verstappen's crash at Turn 9, Charles Leclerc appeared to have secured pole position with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton set to line up next to him on the front row for Sunday's race.

Usually, a crash like Verstappen's would cause at least double-waved yellow flags, if not a red flag, but on Saturday it was initially just a single yellow that was waved.

George Russell knew only a single yellow flag had been issued, causing him to lift off only partially instead of abandoning his lap entirely as is expected under double-waved yellow conditions. It took 15 seconds for the double-waved yellows to eventually be issued, but Russell had already earned pole by then.

Antonelli on the other hand interpreted the signal on track as a double yellow, meaning he abandoned his lap and rubbished his chances of fighting for pole.

In a new clip, the team radio interaction that followed between Antonelli and Bono shows just how confused the championship leader was, highlighting his lack of experience compared to Russell.

Antonelli can be heard saying over team radio: "How did George improve?"

After questioning how his team-mate had clinched pole under what he believed was double-waved yellow, Bonnington then replied: "He did apparently lift through the yellow."

"Yeah, but it was a double yellow," Antonelli replied, causing Bono to question his own information as he responded: "Er...we'll need to double check that."

Was Antonelli wrong about Austrian GP qualifying?

Ahead of Sunday's race, the Sky Sports F1 team aired the new team radio footage, with Anthony Davidson using the 'Skypad' screen to highlight that despite Antonelli's claim that a double-waved yellow light had been shown on his dashboard, it was in fact only one that was initially shown.

After Russell's pole was confirmed following clarification from the FIA that the Brit was not in the wrong, Antonelli admitted the mixup had been a mistake on his part.

“I don’t know why, but I thought it was a double yellow, so I aborted completely and missed the front row... I shouldn’t have done that. That was my mistake," he admitted to media.

A lesson to be learned for Antonelli it seems.

F1 Mercedes Kimi Antonelli Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring Peter Bonnington