Kimi Antonelli made significant strides toward becoming the youngest champion in Formula 1 history with an incredible comeback at his home grand prix on Sunday.
The Mercedes driver clinched victory at the Italian Grand Prix after starting from 19th position on the grid. It took him less than 17 laps to ascend to the front.
The remainder of the race involved a fierce battle with teammate and title contender George Russell for the lead. Antonelli overtook him for the last time with three laps left, marking him as the first Italian to win at Monza in 60 years.
“Oh my God … It feels like a dream,” Antonelli exclaimed on team radio after crossing the finish line.
‘Unbelievable, unbelievable’
“I did not expect it,” Antonelli later remarked. “Unbelievable, unbelievable. I am so happy; I could never have imagined being here today, but we did it, and I am truly, truly delighted.”
This victory marked the second furthest position from which anyone has won a grand prix, with John Watson having won at Long Beach in 1983 after starting 22nd.
“The best race is yet to come. However, I feel like this was one of my best performances so far, and it’s one I will cherish forever,” said the 20-year-old Antonelli, currently in his second season in F1.
Antonelli’s success provided a silver lining for the crowd after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out early in the scuderia’s home race. Meanwhile, in the other Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton finished in sixth place.
Max Verstappen finished a distant third, trailing the two Mercedes drivers, just ahead of McLaren’s defending champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
This victory was Antonelli’s seventh of the season and his fledgling F1 career, extending his lead in the overall standings to 66 points over Russell.
Russell had hoped to close the gap on Antonelli in the championship race, especially after his teammate faced a significant grid penalty at Monza due to a power unit change by Mercedes.
“Kimi is in control, and he deserves to be,” Russell commented regarding the title race. “Personally, I’m not even considering a fight or a comeback.”
“He’s performing exceptionally well. Overcoming that gap is going to be incredibly tough, so I’m just accepting the situation as it is.”
Fans in tears
Russell began Sunday’s grand prix in second place and managed to overtake surprise polesitter Pierre Gasly at the onset of the second lap.
Shortly thereafter, the race was halted when Leclerc lost control exiting Parabolica at the end of Lap 2, crashing into the barriers at high speed. He exited his car and sat down trackside, visibly dejected.
The passionate, red-clad tifosi surrounding the track mirrored his sadness, with many visibly in tears.
By that point, Antonelli had already climbed to 12th place and, as he later admitted, was beginning to believe in the possibility of victory. Once the race resumed, he continued to navigate through the pack, overtaking cars one after another until he was left with only Russell ahead.
No yo-yo
The Mercedes drivers received instructions from their team to avoid swapping positions for the lead and to establish a gap over Verstappen before contesting the win.
On lap 29, Antonelli pitted under the virtual safety car while Russell opted to remain out. Antonelli rejoined in sixth place but, with fresh tires, began to close in on Russell for a second time during the race.
“To be honest, I thought we would both stay out,” Russell admitted. “I was surprised to see him pit.”
“In the end, both strategies were a gamble. At that moment, the team wouldn’t have known which approach was superior; it made sense to split the strategies. Ultimately, Kimi had excellent pace.”
Antonelli seemed to jeopardize his chances of a remarkable comeback victory when he ran through the gravel while trying to overtake Russell on Lap 49. However, his speed allowed him to quickly close the gap and breeze past his teammate the following lap.
