Mercedes has lodged a right of review protest with the FIA over the five-second time penalty handed to Kimi Antonelli in the Australian Grand Prix. Antonelli was handed a five-second time penalty during the race for an adjudged unsafe release on Nico Hulkenberg's Stake during the melee in the pit-lane as the field pitted for slick tyres under the safety car triggered by Fernando Alonso's crash on lap 34. In the closing stages, Antonelli passed Alex Albon for fourth on the road, but was demoted to fifth in the final results, as he became the second-youngest driver to score points in F1 history, and the youngest on his F1 debut, despite spinning early in the race at Turn 4. Mercedes have decided to protest the results under the right of review mechanism in the international sporting code, where it must present "new, significant, and relevant" evidence to the stewards to get them to re-consider their penalty. The stewards will initially determine whether Mercedes has met this threshold before reconvening to determine whether overturn the penalty. They will be meeting at 1840 local time in Melbourne. Update: Mercedes successfully overturned the penalty, restoring Antonelli to fourth.
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