Kimi Antonelli Makes History at Monza, Ends Italy’s 60-Year Wait for a Home Winner

Kimi Antonelli delivered a sensational performance at Monza on Sunday, storming from 19th on the grid to win the Italian Grand Prix and strengthen his grip on the Formula One championship.

The 20-year-old Mercedes driver became the first Italian to win at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti triumphed for Ferrari in 1966. His victory was also the 50th by an Italian driver in the history of the Formula One world championship.

George Russell finished second, 3.857 seconds behind his Mercedes teammate, while Max Verstappen took third for Red Bull. The result was a major setback for Russell, who had hoped to cut Antonelli’s 59-point championship lead after the Italian was hit with engine penalties and forced to start from the back row.

Instead, Antonelli extended his advantage to 66 points after 13 rounds, moving closer to becoming Formula One’s youngest world champion. He is also now on course to become Italy’s first F1 champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Antonelli shouted over the team radio after taking the chequered flag for his seventh victory of the season.

“I could have never imagined to be here today. But we managed to pull it off and I’m really, really happy,” he said after climbing onto the podium to enormous cheers from the home crowd.

Antonelli’s Stunning Charge

Antonelli started the race on hard tyres and had already climbed to 12th before Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a heavy crash that brought out the red flags and stopped the race for around 30 minutes. Russell led the restart from pole, with Antonelli switching to medium tyres. The Italian immediately began slicing through the field, moving into sixth by lap 10, third by lap 13 and second by lap 16.

He briefly took the lead from Russell on lap 18, but the Mercedes pair continued to trade positions repeatedly around Monza’s ultra-fast circuit, where slipstreaming played a major role. A virtual safety car on lap 29, triggered after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll stopped on track, proved crucial. Antonelli pitted for fresh tyres while Russell stayed out, leaving the Italian with a significant tyre advantage late in the race.

Antonelli then closed an 8.9-second gap to Russell to less than a second in just 10 laps. His charge appeared to suffer a setback when he ran into the gravel while attempting to pass with four laps remaining. But the Italian quickly recovered, retook the lead on lap 51 of 53 and pulled away to secure one of the most remarkable victories of his young career.

Russell said his worn tyres prevented him from mounting a final challenge.

“It was looking like a pretty strong race from us, and then I was just struggling with the tyres towards the end,” Russell said. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished fourth after passing teammate Oscar Piastri on the final lap, leaving him 96 points behind Antonelli in the championship.

Ferrari endured a frustrating home race, with Lewis Hamilton finishing sixth after dropping to 10th following an opening-lap incident involving Leclerc. Pierre Gasly was seventh, followed by Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Racing Bulls stand-in Yuki Tsunoda.

The Formula One season now moves to Madrid for next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit.