Kimi Antonelli storms from 19th to end Italy's 60-year Monza wait

Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid after a dramatic recovery drive at Monza, becoming the first Italian in 60 years to win his home race. BBC Sport reported that the Mercedes driver’s victory was the second-furthest climb from a starting position to a grand prix win in Formula 1 history.

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Antonelli began on the penultimate row because of a grid penalty for exceeding his engine allocation this season. His teammate George Russell started on the front row alongside Alpine pole-sitter Pierre Gasly, but Antonelli rapidly changed the shape of the race. He was 14th after the opening lap and had climbed to 12th when Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari crash caused a red flag on lap two.

After the restart, Antonelli advanced to eighth within a lap and then passed McLaren’s Lando Norris for seventh. He continued through the leading group, moving into third place by lap 13, only 1.8 seconds behind leader Max Verstappen with Russell between them. Three laps later, the Mercedes drivers were running first and second.

A virtual safety car caused by Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopping at the first corner prompted Mercedes to split its strategies. Antonelli, who had switched to medium tyres during the earlier stoppage, came in for fresh tyres while Russell stayed out on hard tyres. Antonelli rejoined 14.3 seconds behind his teammate with 24 laps remaining and four cars separating them.

Antonelli erased the deficit and reached Russell with five laps left. His first attack ended with a trip through the gravel at turn one after he lost grip off the racing line, dropping him 1.7 seconds back. He recovered again and passed Russell on the straight between the second Lesmo corner and Ascari about a lap and a half later, then held the lead to the finish.

The result was Antonelli’s seventh victory in the first 13 grands prix of the season and extended his championship advantage over Russell to 66 points. Antonelli told BBC Sport the victory was one he would remember forever and credited the Monza crowd with giving him extra motivation. Russell finished second and acknowledged that Antonelli’s drive deserved the result, while Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff highlighted the winner’s ability to work through traffic as the decisive factor.