Antonelli and Leclerc summoned to stewards after Norris wins Brazilian GP

Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, and Oliver Bearman were all summoned to the stewards following Sunday’s Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, which Lando Norris won convincingly to claim his first victory as outgoing world champion. Mercedes simultaneously sealed their ninth constructors’ championship title.

Antonelli and a Mercedes representative were called to appear over an alleged unsafe release from the pit box. Mercedes sent the Italian teenager out just as Alpine’s Franco Colapinto was approaching, prompting stewards to require Colapinto’s account as well. Even if Antonelli receives a 10-second penalty, his fifth-place finish appears secure — he crossed the line more than 20 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri in sixth.

The race itself was a difficult one for Antonelli. He ran off the track on his way to the grid and encountered further trouble at Turn 1 during the race, telling race engineer Peter Bonnington that there was “something wrong” with the car. Mercedes, at that stage, was still monitoring his tyre temperatures on slicks.

Leclerc’s summons carries more significant consequences. The Ferrari driver made contact with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in the closing stages, just before the uphill start-finish straight. The gap between the two at the flag was just 1.816 seconds, meaning even a five-second penalty would drop Leclerc behind Lawson in the final classification. Max Verstappen, speaking in the cooldown room, described the incident as “rubbing is racing”, but stewards opted to investigate regardless.

Bearman and Haas were also called before the stewards for a separate unsafe release — one that incidentally also involved Leclerc — though the Ferrari junior finished 17th and was already well outside the points.

The difficult Sunday for Ferrari contributed to Mercedes wrapping up the constructors’ title in Brazil. The stewards’ panel for the weekend comprises Nish Shetty, Loïc Bacquelaine, Vitantonio Liuzzi, and Felipe Maluh.