Kimi Antonelli rose from the rear of the grid to claim victory in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, capping off a brilliant comeback drive by passing Mercedes team mate and title rival George Russell in the closing laps.
Antonelli started his home race down in 19th position after an engine penalty, with Russell on the front row of the grid, but the youngster rapidly climbed to the front of the field via a devastating blend of raw pace and smart overtaking.
A mid-race Virtual Safety Car played its part in the outcome, when Antonelli opted to pit under caution for a fresh set of medium tyres, and Russell stayed out on used hards, which gradually faded and made his life more difficult.
Aside from a brief trip through the gravel as he attacked Russell late on, Antonelli could not be faulted across 53 laps at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza – making another huge statement in his quest for the 2026 world title.
Russell had to settle for second place, crossing the line some four seconds behind Antonelli, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the podium finishers in a determined display that also featured serveral bold passes.
The full top 10 are- P1: Antonelli, P2: Russell, P3: Verstappen, P4: Norris, P5: Piastri, P6: Hamilton, P7: Gasly, P8: Lindblad, P9: Colapinto and P10: Tsunoda.
What a result for Antonelli! Coming from 19th to finish P1, if that’s not a championship drive, I don’t know what is. At his home Grand Prix as well! Doesn’t get much better than that.
It was a 1-2 for the Mercedes duo, a decent race from Russell, a shame he couldn’t turn it into the win but I don’t think there was anything stopping Antonelli!
Third for Verstappen, a great race for the Red Bull driver, which meant a good haul of points after crashing out at his home grand prix the race weekend prior.
As for his teammate, Lawson finished 14th – a tough weekend for him.
4th for Norris and 5th for Piastri, a good set of points for the McLaren duo, just missing out on the podium which is unfortunate for the team, but they did well considering how many challenges they had to get through this weekend.
Heartbreak for the Tifosi, Hamilton finished in sixth and Leclerc crashed out on Lap 2. Not an ideal weekend at all for the home hereo’s they will be looking forward to the next race weekend.
P7 for the pole sitter, Pierre Gasly, a decent effort from him, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to fight the whole race with the surrounding teams, he did however, give the drivers around him a good fight!
What makes it that bit sweeter, P9 for Colapinto, a shame for him how it played out in the race, but points are points!
And to round out the points paying position, double points for Racing Bulls, 8th for Lindblad and 10th for Tsunoda, his first point since being back on the grid.
Now we look towards the next race weekend, which is this weekend, as for the first time we head to Madrid, for the Spanish Grand Prix and take on a whole new track!
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