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🇫🇷 France /Sports

Antonelli’s dream Monza comeback, and Leclerc and Ferrari’s nightmare

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix after starting 19th because of an engine-change penalty, passing Mercedes teammate George Russell late in the race.
  • Max Verstappen took third for his fourth podium in five years at Monza, while McLaren drivers Lando Norris and others also earned positive marks.
  • Pierre Gasly finished seventh after starting from a surprise pole, and Franco Colapinto recovered from an incident to give Alpine two cars in the points.

Kimi Antonelli turned a 19th-place start into a home victory at Monza, producing the standout performance of the Italian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver started at the back after taking an engine-change penalty, then worked methodically through the field before beating teammate and rival George Russell in the closing stages.

It was Antonelli’s first win at home and the sixth of his season. He became the first Italian to win at Monza, doing so on only his second appearance there. The result further strengthened his image as a rising star for Italy’s tifosi, who celebrated his victory.

Max Verstappen also delivered a strong recovery after his early and violent retirement at his home race two weeks earlier. The defending Monza winner took third, his fourth podium at the circuit in five years, extracting the maximum from a Red Bull that had not been expected to challenge the Mercedes cars.

my most beautiful victory in my career

· Kimi AntonelliAntonelli described his home win after starting 19th and fighting through the field.

Verstappen briefly led before settling in behind the Mercedes pair. He then defended third place from the McLarens and warmly congratulated Antonelli at the finish.

Pierre Gasly’s weekend moved in the opposite direction. After a spectacular qualifying performance gave him a surprise pole, the Alpine driver hoped to repeat his 2020 victory at Monza. Instead, Russell passed him within a lap, and other leading cars gradually moved ahead. Gasly finished seventh as the best of the rest.

“We did something magical yesterday and we were naturally starting to dream, but we came back to reality,” Gasly said. His teammate Franco Colapinto briefly rose to third after passing Verstappen at the restart, but later lost ground after running into the gravel. He recovered to finish ninth, giving Alpine a double points finish.

We did something magical yesterday and we were naturally starting to dream, but we came back to reality.

· Pierre GaslyGasly assessed Alpine’s weekend after losing the lead following his surprise pole position.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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