Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli says becoming the first Italian to win his home Formula 1 race in 60 years was a “dream come true” as he pulled off an improbable comeback victory from the back of the Italian Grand Prix grid.
Antonelli started from 19th at Monza because of a planned power unit change, which exceeded his allowance for the season and landed him a back-of-the-grid penalty. Mercedes was still aiming for Antonelli to climb into a solid points-paying position, but Antonelli defied those expectations by quickly emerging at the front of the race.
The Italian ran as high as sixth after only a handful of laps, using a standing restart following a red flag for Charles Leclerc‘s accident to further gain ground.
As Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen battled at the front, Antonelli snuck into the fight and started trading the lead with Russell around the halfway point of the 53-lap race.
But with Antonelli on medium rubber after the restart, Mercedes used a virtual safety car to give the Italian a quick pitstop for a fresh set as he chased down hard-tyre runner Russell once more and definitively took the lead with four laps remaining.
“I did not expect it, unbelievable,” Antonelli grinned after the race. “I’m 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. It’s a dream coming true.”
Kimi Antonelli survived a scare in Turn 2 as he tried to repass George Russell towards the end of the race.
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
After chasing down Russell at the end of the race, Antonelli first crossed paths with the Briton at the first chicane, with Russell going deep but Antonelli failing to capitalise on the mistake as he skated into the gravel himself.
Antonelli admitted he feared he had lost his chance to claim the win there and then, but as Russell suffered significant tyre drop-off on old hards, Antonelli was able to decide the race on the following tour.
“It was quite scary during the moment because the tarmac was breaking up, but I still thought I could make the corner,” Antonelli reported. “But once I went over a bit of gravel as well, I went straight, and I was like: ‘Maybe I lost my chance’. But luckily we still had the pace and managed to bring it home.”
Antonelli’s mindset quickly shifted after carving through the field earlier as the 19-year-old started believing he was in the hunt after the restart. “I was up there and I knew I could have had a shot for the win, so I definitely believed in it. Especially when I was behind George,” he said as he collected his seventh win of the season.
“But it was really difficult to break away with the tow being so strong. But we pitted and he stayed out and he struggled a bit with the hards at the end, while with fresher tyres I was able to increase the pace and managed to win it.”
Antonelli now leads Russell in the championship by 66 points as F1 heads to Madrid next week for the Spanish Grand Prix at the newly-built Madring circuit.
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