Kimi Antonelli punished despite gut-wrenching Barcelona GP retirement

Kimi Antonelli has received a post-race five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits on four occasions during the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The championship leader retired from the race in the closing stages shortly after overtaking George Russell for second place, following a sudden electrical failure.

Antonelli pulled to the inside of the circuit on the exit of Turn 5 after suddenly slowing, causing his championship advantage to shrink to 41 points as Lewis Hamilton went on to claim victory.

Fortunately, the 19-year-old was still classified in 16th position, having completed more than 90 per cent of the race distance.

This means his five-second time penalty will be added to his race time rather than converted into a grid penalty for the Austrian Grand Prix.

The stewards have also called for a review of the "current procedures and guidelines" regarding track-limits violations due to an issue concerning the timing of Antonelli being shown the black-and-white flag.

The stewards' report read: "The car left the track four times during the race without justifiable reason. 

"The Stewards acknowledge that the driver did not receive a black/white flag after his third infringement but rather after his fourth infringement as one earlier infringement was only detected later in the race. 

"However, based on the current regulations and Driving Standards Guidelines, this does not exempt the driver from complying with the regulations. 

"As there might be some ambiguity in the relevant guidelines, the Stewards recommend the FIA revisit the current procedures and guidelines as soon as possible."