Kimi Antonelli astonishingly managed to take part in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix despite suffering a frightening crash during final practice.
In the closing moments of the session at Melbourne's Albert Park, Antonelli took too much kerb on the exit of the second corner, which sent his car into a pivot.
The young Italian then smashed into the outside barrier hard, sustaining massive damage to the Mercedes W17.
Mercedes immediately started to carry out repairs when the car returned to the pit lane.
It initially appeared as if the extent of the damage would be too extreme for the mechanics to fix on time, but the crew managed to get him back on track during the red-flag period following a crash for Red Bull's four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen.
With just over seven minutes remaining in the session, Antonelli then added to the miracle from Mercedes by comfortably qualifying for Q2, finishing sixth quickest.
Over the radio after Q1, Antonelli praised his team. "Oh my God! Thank you guys, you're the best!"
However, he is under investigation by the stewards for a pit-lane infringement when qualifying resumed.
Don't miss out on any of the Formula 1 action thanks to this handy 2026 F1 calendar that can be easily loaded into your smartphone or PC.
Download the calenderMost read
In this article
Join the conversation!