Kimi Antonelli apologised to Max Verstappen after causing a collision with the reigning Formula One champion at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen's hopes of winning Red Bull's home race were dashed on the first corner, as he was clipped by Antonelli.

The teenage driver lost control of his Mercedes, and as such has received a three-place grid penalty for next week's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

"I didn't necessarily brake too late, it's just that when I braked, I braked hard because I was behind other cars, and in that moment, I locked the rears," Antonelli told Sky Sports F1.

"Then I just couldn't stop the car. I locked the rear and then lost the car and then had to avoid [Liam] Lawson. Then it was too late because I was arriving just too quick.

"I started to lock the front and instead of decelerating, I was accelerating. The car was just taking speed, and the crash was inevitable.

"Just feel super sorry for the team, and to Max of course, because obviously, he was just a passenger."

Heading into the race, no driver had won more Austrian Grands Prix than Verstappen (four), who also had the most podiums (six), poles (four) and fastest laps (four) at the Red Bull Ring.

However, the Dutchman could only watch on this time as Lando Norris edged out his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, as the duo extended their lead in the standings.

Win No. 8 of the season for @McLarenF1 

And their fourth 1-2! #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/Gom3Yuzbl0

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2025

"It's just unlucky, like yesterday in qualifying," Verstappen reflected.

"But overall, we didn't really have that great pace anyway this weekend, so a lot of learning for us about how we can hopefully do better next weekend. But of course, not an ideal result today."

Verstappen, though, was not too angry at Antonelli.

He added: "I saw the footage once I came back and it happens. Every driver has made a mistake like that.

"Everyone has made a mistake like that in their careers and also Kimi is a very big talent, so he learns from that and that's all fine."

Verstappen sits third in the drivers' championship on 155 points, 46 adrift of second-place Norris and 61 shy of leader Piastri.