Kimi Antonelli’s participation in Australian Grand Prix qualifying is in doubt after the Italian severely damaged his Mercedes in a huge crash in final practice at the first round of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Just as Mercedes decided to unleash the stunning pace – later confirmed by his team-mate George Russell – that many suspected they had, Antonelli lost control of his car at Turn 2 and shunted into the barrier at high speed.
While the 19-year-old was quickly out of his stricken car and was cleared after being checked on by medics, his participation in the first qualifying session of the season, live on Sky Sports F1 at 5am, is in major doubt.
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Anthony Davidson analyses Kimi Antonelli’s crash in P3 of the Australian GP.
Sky Sports F1 pundits Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson immediately said on commentary that they would expect Mercedes to be unable to repair the car for qualifying.
There were mixed emotions at Mercedes as Russell topped the session with a stunning lap time of 1:19.053, which put him six tenths clear of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in second.
Antonelli’s crash will be all the more frustrating for both him and Mercedes given they appeared to have a huge opportunity to start the season with a one-two in both qualifying and Sunday’s race at Albert Park.
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George Russell sent out an ominous statement of intent to his rivals as the Mercedes driver went quickest in final practice around Melbourne Park.
Hamilton and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was third, appear to be Russell’s most likely challengers for pole having finished ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Max Verstappen was a place behind his new Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar in sixth, and sounded frustrated over the radio as he complained of issues with his car.
‘Crash could impact Antonelli all year’
Sky Sports F1 pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz warned that the crash could have a major impact on Antonelli’s 2026 campaign.
He said: “There’s no good time to crash, but in F1, you know that the worst possible time in practice to crash is in the last 10 minutes of Practice Three going into the qualifying session.
“In the garage it was playing out like a Drive to Survive episode. Kimi was there, Toto was reacting, stony-faced. Kimi didn’t go over to Toto for quite a while, he was with his engineer Peter Bonnington trying to understand what had just happened.
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Antonelli crashed on his practice debut for Mercedes at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.
“We wait to see what the effect on the rest of the weekend will be for Kimi Antonelli, and potentially on the rest of the year as well.
“Remember how much his accident in Monza in 2024 – in his first free practice session before he even became a fully-fledged F1 driver – affected him throughout the whole of last season.
“Hopefully he’ll be able to move on quite quickly.”
Sky Sports F1’s Australian GP schedule
Saturday March 7
5am: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
7am: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
9.45pm: F3 Feature Race*
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As Formula 1 enters a new era, Tate McRae’s GRAMMY-nominated Just Keep Watching will become the new title track for Sky Sports’ F1 coverage this season and beyond
Sunday March 8
12.20am: F2 Feature Race*
2.30am: Australian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
4am: THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX*
6am: Australian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
7am: Ted’s Notebook*
7.55am: Australian GP race replay*
10am: Australian GP highlights (also on Sky One)*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Watch every race of the 2026 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from this Sunday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12040/13516120/australian-gp-kimi-antonelli-in-huge-crash-as-george-russell-reveals-stunning-mercedes-pace-in-practice-three