A home win 60 years in the making

Kimi Antonelli’s Italian Grand Prix victory is being hailed as an instant classic after the Mercedes driver won the race from 19th on the grid, made 25 — and by the end 26 — passes and engaged his teammate George Russell in a thrilling battle for the win. The 20-year-old, who had turned 20 just 14 days earlier, became the first Italian to win his home Grand Prix since 1966.

Only once before in the 76-year history of the world championship had a driver started lower than 19th and won a race: John Watson, from 22nd at Long Beach in 1983. In the first 12 races of this season, the average positions gained by a car starting 19th and finishing was just 3.83. Antonelli gained 18. Even across the last 19 Monza races, the average for a P19 starter was 5.89. He was in the top five by Lap 10. Pirelli’s Dario Marrafuschi described it as “an extraordinary recovery drive, completing 26 overtakes.”

“He was going to walk over water”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, long cautious about overhyping his young charger, reached for an almost biblical description after the race.

“I thought one of the two is going to win,” Wolff told reporters. “Or Kimi, because he was going to walk over water here in Monza.”

Wolff said he sensed “a special moment” was possible, having spoken to Antonelli’s father, Marco, who saw the same thing. “These are the moments where you can see how the weekend is panning out through the sessions that a special moment could come,” he said. “It’s still a mechanical sport, so it can change quickly.”

Pundits run out of superlatives

Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle labelled him “King Kimi,” while 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg was left stunned.

“We have to say the race that he drove, the first lap, the second start, everything was to perfection,” said Rosberg. “The speed he had, how he was managing everything. You cannot do it better. He’s in his second season in F1, he just turned 20. Who does that like that? It’s just unheard of!”

Wolff compared the drive to the greats. “The differentiator today was the ability going through the traffic. We’ve seen it with other great ones in the past. Lewis [Hamilton] put it in some of the races and that’s what he’s shown today. There’s just no stopping when a driver and a car are one, then there’s nothing that can stop them.”

A season-defining drive

After a red flag on Lap 3 for Charles Leclerc’s crash, Antonelli was already 12th. A lightning restart put him eighth, then sixth. He scythed through the field, fighting Russell for the lead before Mercedes called off the duel to guard against Max Verstappen. A Virtual Safety Car let Antonelli pit for fresh mediums; he recovered and passed Russell at the Ascari chicane for overtake No. 26.

“This is a day that I will remember forever! It is for sure the most special win of my career so far,” Antonelli said. “The best podium of the season... to see the full pit straight packed with people cheering.”

The win stretched his championship lead over Russell to a joint season-high 66 points. Where does it rank among Monza classics? Alongside Michael Schumacher’s 2006 Ferrari farewell, Sebastian Vettel’s 2008 Toro Rosso breakthrough and Daniel Ricciardo’s 2021 McLaren win. “But this one felt livelier across the board, electrified by Antonelli’s youthful exuberance,” wrote The Athletic’s Alex Kalinauckas.

Wolff framed it as the closing of a circle two years after Antonelli crashed on his first Monza appearance as Hamilton’s announced replacement. “Two years ago in FP1, it was probably the toughest moment in his career... Then two years later, it’s the biggest glory.” Asked if it was his best race, Antonelli said simply: “The best one is yet to come.”