Kimi Antonelli caps Monza charge with DHL Fastest Lap

Starting from 19th on Sunday’s grid, Kimi Antonelli stormed his way onto the top rung of the podium at his home race in the Royal Park of Monza, becoming the first Italian since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966 to win the Italian Grand Prix.

Having received a grid penalty for the weekend’s race, the 20-year-old started from the back of the field on hard tires. During an early red flag triggered by an accident involving Charles Leclerc, he switched to medium tires.

George Russell, who was leading at that point, opted for a conventional one-stop strategy. He started on the medium tires and switched to the hard compound when the red flag was waved, with the clear objective of retaining the lead on those tires until the end.

After the restart, Antonelli continued his charge through the field, fought his way to the front, and engaged in a battle for the lead with his Mercedes team-mate. A virtual safety car midway through the race gave Mercedes the perfect opportunity to bring Antonelli into the pits for a fresh set of medium tires.

He returned to the contest in sixth place and proceeded to close in on Russell in the final stages. With three laps to go, Antonelli not only took the lead but also capped his first home victory in Italy with the DHL Fastest Lap: on the 53rd and final lap, he clocked a lap time of 1:23.504, registering an average speed of 249.746 km/h. This sparked wild celebrations among the thousands of Tifosi lining the track.

“This is a day I will remember forever,” said a jubilant Antonelli afterwards. “It is definitely the most special win of my career so far. It’s the best podium finish of the season, and seeing the entire pit straight packed with people cheering and showing their support was a dream.”