Antonelli seals home Italian Grand Prix win with magical Monza drive from 19th

Credit: FORMULA 1. Kimi Antonelli won his home Grand Prix at Monza.

Kimi Antonelli has won his home Italian Grand Prix from nineteenth on the grid in magnificent fashion having fought teammate George Russell for victory to become the first Italian to win on home soil in 60 years.

The home hero took an engine penalty which started him in P19, but by lap 18 Antonelli had capitalised on a red flag restart and impeccable pace to charge up the order and lead the race, typing as the second furthest-back victor in Formula 1.

Antonelli fought hard against Russell in the race’s climax, with both Mercedes drivers making errors at the first chicane despite Antonelli being virtually faultless throughout.

Partly aided by a mid-race Virtual Safety Car for Lance Stroll’s injured Aston Martin, Antonelli took to the pits to swap to fresh tyres whilst Russell stayed out on an old set, ultimately falling victim to the 20-year-old who extended his championship lead.

Max Verstappen worked hard to lift his Red Bull to the podium having battled with the McLaren and Alpine pairs as well as briefly leading the race as Antonelli made his way through the field.

Lando Norris came out the top McLaren in fourth after a fierce battle with teammate Oscar Piastri in the closing laps – the Australian having had the edge on his teammate until that point.

Lewis Hamilton was the sole finisher for Ferrari in sixth as teammate Charles Leclerc suffered a high-speed crash on the second lap after a tricky start, shifting the Tifosi’s interest to their compatriot instead.

Pole sitter Pierre Gasly finished in seventh after a decent opening to the race and stunning Saturday but was ultimately swallowed up by faster machinery.

Racing Bull’s Arvid Lindblad finished in eighth ahead of the other Alpine of Franco Colapinto who made his way briefly to third before running wide into the gravel.

Yuki Tsunoda scored the final point on offer on his second start as a substitute for Racing Bulls.

The Audi pair of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg fell shy of the points in eleventh and twelfth respectively.

Carlos Sainz finished in P13 for Williams as Liam Lawson finished fourteenth in his second return race to Red Bull having started from the pit lane.

The two Haas cars of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon finished fifteenth and sixteenth while P17 belonged to Williams’ Alex Albon.

The Cadillac duo of Sergio Perez and Valterri Bottas completed the classification.

The Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso also joined Leclerc on the sidelines after failing to finish with a technical issue and suspected damage.