Kimi Antonelli hails Mercedes trick in 'surprise' Monaco obliteration

Kimi Antonelli has hailed Mercedes' rear-wing upgrade introduced for the Monaco Grand Prix, admitting it came as a "surprise" just how much quicker it made the car.

Antonelli struggled on the opening day at the Circuit de Monaco but found exceptional pace in third practice before going on to claim a famous pole position by 0.043s.

The championship leader's impressive performance reached an entirely new level in the race, as he stormed into a commanding lead before mastering both a safety car restart and a standing restart following a red flag.

A fifth consecutive victory of the season extends his lead in the F1 drivers' championship to 66 points over Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell having slipped to third.

Antonelli was full of praise for Mercedes after becoming the youngest driver to win in Monaco and particularly highlighted the work carried out to introduce a series of small winglets to the rear wing.

"Yeah, I’m very happy," said Antonelli. "It was a really strong weekend and the team did an incredible job, first of all with the rear wing that we brought, but as well with the turnaround that we had between Friday and Saturday. 

"The car just changed massively and obviously gave me a lot more confidence to push around this track. And yeah, I’ve just really been able to enjoy."

After acing the race start, there was no stopping Antonelli. The Italian punched in fastest lap after fastest lap, with his level of dominance catching him by surprise.

Asked if his dominance came as a surprise, Antonelli explained: "Yeah, I was surprised by the pace, but I just felt really one with the car and I was just able to set a good rhythm with high intensity and the car was responding really well. 

"So yeah, definitely I was surprised, but it was just one of those days where everything clicks."