Two F1 teams receive hefty punishments after Abu Dhabi practice incidents

Both Mercedes and Williams have received big FIA fines after incidents in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pit-lane in final practice.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was deemed to have been unsafely released by Mercedes directly into the path of Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, with significant contact having been made between the duo. 

Tsunoda received clear damage to his RB21, with Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff having quickly apologised to the Japanese driver and Red Bull. 

During the hearing, the team conceded that it was in a "bit of a rush" following the red flag for Lewis Hamilton's crash, with the stewards deciding that no fault was on Antonelli with Mercedes being fined €10,000. 

The stewards' report read: "The Stewards heard from the team representatives from Mercedes and Red Bull Racing and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence.

"The competitor of Car 12 conceded that the team was in a “bit of a rush” due to the prior red flag, and also noted that there was no fault that could be attributed to the driver, as he was following the instructions of the team.

The penalty applied is the same as that applied to a similar breach in this year’s Singapore Grand Prix."

Elsewhere, Williams were fined €5,000 for an unsafe release for Alex Albon into the path of Esteban Ocon, with the stewards finding Ocon had to "brake almost to a stop to avoid a collision and hence was determined to be unsafe.