Formula One leader ​Kimi Antonelli produced a spectacular drive to win his ‌home Italian Grand ​Prix from 19th on the grid at Monza on Sunday.

The 20-year-old in the process also became ⁠the first Italian winner at Monza since Ludovico ​Scarfiotti for ‌Ferrari in 1966.

Antonelli, who had to start from the back of the grid after taking an engine penalty, wasted no time in making up his places, jumping a flurry of cars on the opening lap.

The 19-year-old used his car’s superior straight line speed to good effect to pass the Mclarens, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, before effecting one final overtake on his teammate George Russell to cap off a historic weekend.

Russell, who led the re-start after Ferrari’s Charles ‌Leclerc crashed heavily ​early in the race, eventually had to settle for second.

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Antonelli’s penalty had presented the perfect opportunity for Russell to close the gap to the Italian. However, as things panned out, it took Antonelli just eighteen laps to chase down the Briton.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” screamed Antonelli over ​the team radio as he took ‌the chequered flag as a winner for the seventh time this season and gave the crowd something to celebrate after Ferrari failed to make the podium.

“I am 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,” he said ​later, after stepping out onto the podium to huge cheers.

“It’s a dream come true,” Antonelli added. “What an incredible day. I couldn’t do this without my team, my family and everyone who supports me.”

“There’s still a few races to go, so we will try to keep our heads down. But now, yes, we are going to enjoy today.”

“I did not expect this. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I am so happy. I could not have imagined to be here today, but we managed to pull it off and I am really, really happy.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also jumped on the radio to shower praise on the youngster.

“Our Italian hero. So deserved. That was a fantastic lap. I hated the last one, but it was fantastic,” he said.

“It was unbelievable,” he said. “He was so controlled all race. He kept his head down, took no risks at the start and then one by one he passed them. An amazing drive,” Wolff added.

Russell said he did not have the tyres to fight back.

“It ‌was looking like a pretty strong race from us, and then I was just struggling with the ​tyres towards the end. Obviously, we did the whole race on that one hard tyre,” he said.

“I thought we were both going to stay ⁠out. I was surprised to see him pitting. In the end it was a roll ⁠of the dice both ways. In hindsight, it’s easy to say I should have pitted rather than stayed out. I felt like I was holding my own at that point, but I think that’s partly why the team wanted us to split strategies.”

“I’m disappointed with missing out on the win but here we are.”

Russell also added that he was not thinking about the title race at the moment.

“We are where we are,” he said. “He (Antonelli) has driven incredibly this season. He deserves to lead the championship and he has a healthy lead.”

“I’m not even going to think about the fight or the comeback. I’m just going to every race trying to win it. I’m not putting any pressure on myself in this regard. I just need to try and win more races.”

“He is in the best spot and he deserves to be where he is.”

Verstappen finished third while the Mclaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished fourth and fifth respectively.

Published on Sep 06, 2026