Kimi Antonelli victory brilliance triggers Monza eruption in red-flagged Italian GP

Kimi Antonelli completed a remarkable 19th to first recovery to win the Italian Grand Prix, in what was a red-flagged race in Monza. 

A red flag was required on the third lap after a huge accident for Charles Leclerc at Parabolica, resulting in barrier repairs being required. 

Yo-yo racing again took centre stage, with George Russell being forced to settle for second despite leading large portions of the race. 

Max Verstappen completed the podium ahead of both McLarens, while Lewis Hamilton finished in a disappointing sixth. Polesitter Pierre Gasly ended up in seventh.

Horror Ferrari start

It was near-impossible to decide where to look on the Monza grid, with Pierre Gasly on pole but championship leader Kimi Antonelli down in 19th.

There was a real mix of starting tyre compounds. Gasly and George Russell on the front row opted for new mediums, while Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen all went for new softs.

As the lights went out, it was the front-row duo who got away best and remained first and second, while Hamilton tried to overtake Leclerc at the first corner.

It went badly for the Briton, who was then on the outside at Turn 2, where Leclerc forced him fairly onto the gravel. Hamilton tumbled to 10th as a result and immediately complained on the radio.

The start quickly worsened for Ferrari, as a lap later Verstappen overtook Leclerc, before the Monegasque suffered a scary crash at the final corner. 

He found himself under pressure from Oscar Piastri and was forced to take a different line into Parabolica at the end of the second lap. Leclerc went wide and touched the drain on the outside of the white line, catching him off guard and sending him into the wall at high speed.

It initially triggered a safety car, but this was quickly escalated to a full red flag. A lengthy 30-minute stoppage took place to recover Leclerc's car and repair the barrier.

Elsewhere, before the red flag, Russell overtook Gasly at the first corner on lap two for the lead. It meant that at the race restart, Russell was on pole, ahead of Gasly, Verstappen, Franco Colapinto and Piastri. Hamilton was eighth, with Antonelli incredibly up to 12th.

Race restart and Antonelli brilliance

Crucially, the red flag allowed the entire field to change tyres, in what was predicted by Pirelli to be only a one-stop race. It meant that nobody needed to pit again unless they desired to.

Russell, Gasly, Colapinto and both McLarens in fifth and sixth opted for new hard tyres, while Verstappen, Hamilton and Antonelli chose new mediums. Unfortunately, the restart was aborted due to Yuki Tsunoda being out of position.

Thankfully, the lights did go out to restart the race at the beginning of lap six, with Russell and Gasly safely remaining in first and second.

It was all change behind, as Verstappen overtook Colapinto for third at Turn 4, before the Argentinian went off at Turn 6 and fell to 16th. Hamilton also made a strong restart, rising from eighth to fourth.

Antonelli's restart was also unbelievable, as the title leader found himself in sixth by the end of lap seven. Meanwhile, Gasly fell to third behind Verstappen.

Third became fourth for Gasly at the start of lap 10, as Hamilton roared past the Frenchman at the entry of the opening corner. The Tifosi let off an almighty cheer. It was a disastrous lap for Gasly, as Piastri and Antonelli also got past.

Yo-yo racing chaos unfolded over the next eight laps. On lap 12, Verstappen passed Russell for the lead, while Piastri and Antonelli both overtook Hamilton. A lap later, Antonelli got past the McLaren for third.

Lap 15, and Russell regained the lead from Verstappen, with the Dutchman slipping to third a lap later behind Antonelli. The two Mercedes quickly started battling and swapping positions, but come lap 29, it was Russell ahead of the Italian.

A virtual safety car was triggered on that lap after Lance Stroll came to a halt at the first corner, joining his team-mate out of the race. Crucially, Antonelli and Verstappen both pitted, the former for new mediums and the latter for new hards.

The duo rejoined in sixth and seventh and made rapid progress. By lap 37, Antonelli was back into second and just nine seconds behind Russell. In a significant moment on lap 38, Russell was placed under investigation for a yellow-flag infringement, but no further action was taken.

As the race entered its final 10 laps, Russell held a 5.5s lead over Antonelli, with Verstappen, Piastri, Norris and Hamilton completing the top six.

Concerningly for Russell, his tyres started to open up, allowing his team-mate to get onto his rear with a handful of laps remaining. Ultimately, with his degrading tyres, Russell had no answer to Antonelli on fresher rubber.

However, Antonelli's first attempt at overtaking went badly wrong on lap 49, with him going off into the gravel but managing to safely rejoin. Antonelli's next attempt came on lap 50, this time to great success.

Russell had to settle for second, with Antonelli cruising into the distance to pick up an emotional win on home soil. Verstappen, Norris and Piastri completed the top five.