Mercedes seeking FIA answers over peculiar Kimi Antonelli issue

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has voiced confusion over the root of Kimi Antonelli's grid issue in Las Vegas.

Antonelli was handed a five-second time penalty for moving in his grid box before the lights went out at the start of the race.

The Italian driver started from P17 on the grid and made an early stop to switch to the hard compound before crossing the line in fourth place.

While the time penalty dropped him to fifth, Antonelli was promoted onto the podium following a double disqualification for McLaren.

Although the movement in the grid box was minor, the FIA deemed it illegal and punished Antonelli - however Wolff suggested it was not prompted by the rookie's inputs. 

“We couldn't spot anything on the clutch, nor anything that would have pointed us to an irregular start,” Wolff told media including RacingNews365.

“The FIA have sensors, so let's see what they say. I'm the only one who seemed to have seen that there was a little bit of a movement, but it wasn't definite by releasing the clutch or getting off the brake pedal.

“So we shall see what the FIA says.”

Wolff admitted surprise over Antonelli's comeback, asserting it was reserved over the possibility of making it to the end of the race following his early pit stop.

“Starting P17, pretty much on the defence with an aggressive stop at the beginning,” Wolff said.

“I’m not sure that we thought it was realistic at the beginning. But then he went quicker and quicker and quicker and cleared the graining.

“At the end, a super well-deserved P5 even with the penalty. So don't know what that could have been starting from a better position.”