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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Sports

Antonelli wins sensational Italian Grand Prix after starting 19th

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

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

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Outcome reported
  • Championship leader Kimi Antonelli won his home Italian Grand Prix after rising from 19th on the grid to first.
  • George Russell finished second for Mercedes, leaving him 66 points behind Antonelli after 13 rounds instead of closing the gap.
  • Max Verstappen finished third, while Ferrari failed to place a driver on the podium at Monza.

Kimi Antonelli turned a 19th-place start into a home victory at Monza, delivering one of the most dramatic wins of his season and strengthening his grip on the Formula One championship.

Oh my god, oh my god

· Kimi AntonelliAntonelli shouted over the team radio as he took the chequered flag at Monza.

The 20-year-old Italian became the first Italian to win at the circuit since Ludovico Scarfiotti drove a Ferrari to victory in 1966. He crossed the line 3.857 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell, with Max Verstappen a distant third for Red Bull.

Russell had hoped to reduce Antonelli's 59-point advantage after an engine penalty sent the championship leader to the back row. Instead, the gap grew to 66 points after 13 rounds. Russell led the restart following Charles Leclerc's heavy crash at the end of the second lap, but Antonelli repeatedly exchanged the lead with him before pitting during a virtual safety-car period.

I am so happy and I could have never imagined to be here today. But we managed to pull it off and I'm really, really happy

· Kimi AntonelliAntonelli described his reaction after stepping onto the podium.

With fresher tires, Antonelli closed an 8.9-second deficit to less than a second in 10 laps. He then appeared to lose his chance when he ran into the gravel while attempting a pass with four laps remaining. He recovered, retook the lead on lap 51 of 53 and pulled away.

Our Italian hero. So deserved. That was a fantastic lap. I hated the last one, but it was fantastic

· Toto WolffThe Mercedes team boss praised Antonelli over the team radio after the finish.

"I am so happy and I could have never imagined to be here today. But we managed to pull it off and I'm really, really happy," Antonelli said after the race. Russell said his tires could not support a late fight, after completing the race on one hard tire. Lando Norris finished fourth, Oscar Piastri fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth, while Ferrari failed to reach the podium.

It was looking like a pretty strong race from us, and then I was just struggling with the tires towards the end. Obviously, we did the whole race on that one hard tire

· George RussellRussell explained why he could not challenge Antonelli late in the race.
About this summary

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. 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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