Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday 6 September after starting from 19th place, according to AFP, becoming the first Italian driver to win the race on home soil since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver, who comes from nearby Emilia-Romagna, finished 3.857 seconds ahead of team-mate and title rival George Russell.
AFP, in a report carried by Al Jazeera, said it was Antonelli’s seventh victory of the season and extended his lead in the drivers’ championship, with Russell now 66 points behind. Four-time champion Max Verstappen took third for Red Bull.
A Race From the Back
Antonelli started at the rear of the field after taking penalties for exceeding the permitted number of power-unit changes, AFP reported. The race was red-flagged early on after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed on the exit of the Parabolica at the end of lap two; he stepped out of the car looking winded but otherwise unhurt, the agency said. Antonelli had already climbed to 12th by then, and after the restart he kept working through the field.
He reached the lead for the first time on lap 18, according to the report, setting up a long fight with Russell. A virtual safety car on lap 29 gave Antonelli what AFP described as a “free” tyre change onto fresh mediums while Russell stayed out on hard tyres, and a 15-second advantage quickly disappeared. After a failed overtaking attempt on lap 49, Antonelli passed Russell a lap later and held on through the final three laps.
“Unbelievable!” Antonelli said afterwards, adding that he could never have imagined being in that position. Russell called it an incredible result and said he would have loved to win himself, AFP reported.
The Rest of the Order
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished fourth and fifth for McLaren, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton sixth, the report said. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, described by AFP as the team’s maiden pole-sitter, finished seventh. The official Formula 1 classification lists the same top seven.
Why It Matters
For a home crowd that watched Ferrari’s afternoon unravel, an Italian winner at Monza offered an unexpected consolation. AFP noted that Antonelli is also seeking to become Italy’s first world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953, a prospect that will keep attention on his remaining races this season. AFP said Antonelli benefited from the early red flag and a “free” tyre change under the virtual safety car, two circumstances that helped a driver who began at the back of the grid.
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