The F1 Italian GP delivered a dramatic race at Monza, featuring an early red flag, intense battles at the front and an extraordinary recovery from Kimi Antonelli. Starting from 19th, the Italian charged through the field and found himself fighting for the podium.
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Grid Penalties Set the Stage
Oscar Piastri was handed a three-place grid penalty after being penalised for impeding during Q1. As a result, the championship contender started the Italian GP from sixth rather than third. Kimi Antonelli also lost his original qualifying position following a planned power unit change, forcing the Mercedes driver to start from 19th on the grid.
The Start
Pierre Gasly and George Russell started from the front row on medium tyres, while the Ferraris lined up behind them on softs, with Charles Leclerc ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Gasly made a strong getaway and held the lead into the opening corners, with Russell and Leclerc close behind. Leclerc pushed Hamilton off the track at the chicane as the Ferrari drivers battled for position. By the end of the opening lap, Russell had taken the lead, while Leclerc and Gasly began fighting for second.
Max Verstappen quickly joined the battle and overtook Leclerc. However, the race took a dramatic turn shortly afterwards. Exiting the Parabolica, Leclerc lost the rear of his Ferrari under acceleration and suffered a heavy crash. The incident brought out the red flag on Lap 3. Despite the chaos at the front, Antonelli had already made significant progress, climbing from 19th to 12th.
Restart
An extra formation lap was required after Yuki Tsunoda made a mistake and stopped in the wrong grid position.
Russell retained the lead at the restart, ahead of Gasly and Verstappen. Franco Colapinto moved into fourth but made a mistake at Lesmo, allowing the order to shuffle once again. Antonelli continued his remarkable charge through the field and, after the opening laps, had climbed into sixth.
On Lap 8, Russell led Verstappen and Gasly. Two laps later, Hamilton moved into third by passing Gasly. The Frenchman subsequently dropped further down the order as Piastri and Antonelli moved ahead. At the front, Russell and Verstappen continued their fight for the lead.
On Lap 12, Verstappen finally took control of the race. At the same time, Antonelli overtook Hamilton for fourth and then passed Piastri one lap later. The Mercedes driver was now up to third after starting 19th.
Russell regained the lead on Lap 15, while Antonelli moved into second a lap later and began closing the gap to the Mercedes leader. Both drivers had benefited from different tyre strategies during the earlier interruption. Russell had switched from mediums to hards, while Antonelli had gone from hards to mediums.
Antonelli Takes the Lead
The Italian’s charge continued. On Lap 18, Antonelli overtook Russell to take the lead of his home Grand Prix. Russell responded several laps later, reclaiming first place on Lap 23. The race entered another crucial phase on Lap 28 when Lance Stroll stopped on track, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Antonelli and Verstappen both pitted on Lap 29. Antonelli switched to a fresh set of medium tyres, while Verstappen opted for hards.
The Final 15 Laps
After Antonelli’s pit stop, Russell returned to the lead with a comfortable advantage. However, Antonelli began closing the gap consistently. Within 10 laps, Russell’s advantage had been reduced to around four seconds. Verstappen overtook Piastri on Lap 43 to move into third, while the battle between the Mercedes drivers intensified.
Russell was warned over the team radio not to push too hard, with tyre wear increasing the risk of a potential puncture. The message immediately raised questions over whether Mercedes was also trying to avoid a direct fight between its two drivers if Antonelli managed to catch Russell.
By Lap 48, Antonelli had reduced the gap to less than a second on the main straight, cutting Russell’s advantage from 1.3 seconds in just one lap. Then came the decisive moment. On Lap 49, Antonelli went into the gravel at the first chicane. Russell also made a mistake, while Antonelli’s error ultimately resulted in a spin and cost him valuable time.
On Lap 50, Russell received another message from the Mercedes pit wall: no fighting, keep it clean and take no unnecessary risks. Antonelli nevertheless continued attacking and overtook Russell at Ascari. It was his 26th overtake of the race — an extraordinary statistic considering he had started from 19th.
Further back, Norris attempted to pass Piastri on Lap 52, running onto the grass on the right-hand side. However, he was unable to complete the move. McLaren had already instructed Piastri to race cleanly as the two teammates battled for position.
The full results of the Race according to FIA.com:
