FIA probes Antonelli over pit-lane clash with Tsunoda in Abu Dhabi FP3
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s final practice in Abu Dhabi turned messy after a pit-lane tangle with Yuki Tsunoda brought the FIA into the conversation and both camps to the stewards.
In the closing minutes of FP3 at Yas Marina, Tsunoda was running down the fast lane when Mercedes released Antonelli from his box. The rookie clipped the right-rear of Tsunoda’s car, damaging the floor and bargeboard area, while the Mercedes picked up a broken left-front endplate.
Tsunoda’s radio told the story—surprised, annoyed, and immediately checking for damage. On Antonelli’s side, team comms suggested he’d been told to head straight out as the signal came, only to find Tsunoda sweeping past. “You told me yes and… Tsunoda was coming,” came the frustrated debrief from the cockpit.
The FIA has opened an investigation for a potential unsafe release. Antonelli and Tsunoda, along with representatives from both teams, have been summoned to meet the stewards at 16:40 local time.
Pit-lane skirmishes are usually judged with a clear eye on procedure: who gave the go, what the light or lollipop showed, whether the driver had a reasonable view, and if the team managed the release appropriately with traffic barreling down the fast lane. The typical outcomes range from reprimands and fines to time or grid penalties, depending on how the stewards read cause and consequence.
None of this is ideal timing, obviously. FP3 is the last tune-up before qualifying, and both garages had extra work on their hands—front wing bits for Mercedes, floor tidying for Tsunoda’s side—to ensure neither car carries a lingering handicap into the session that matters.
It’s also a sharp little pressure test for Antonelli. He’s been thrust into one of the sport’s most scrutinized seats, and while rookies make mistakes, unsafe release calls sit heavily with the pit wall as much as the driver. Expect both teams to argue their corner firmly: visibility, the pit-lane green, the mechanic’s signal, and who could’ve done more to avoid contact will all be in play.
We’ll update once the stewards publish their decision. For now, it’s a reminder that in modern F1, your weekend can unravel just as easily at 60 km/h between two white lines as it can at 300 km/h under the lights.
