At 19 years, 9 months and 13 days old, Kimi Antonelli became the youngest Monaco Grand Prix winner in history. He also took the team’s first victory in Monte Carlo since 2019 when Lewis Hamilton won an emotional race.
However, it was not such a good race for George Russell who finished out of the points crossing the line in 12th place following a drive-through penalty in the closing laps of the race with the field bunched up following a red flag.
Having taken pole the day before, Antonelli was able to stay out front into the first corner and held a fairly comfortable lead ahead of a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari who finished second ahead of a solid third place for Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. It was not such a good day for the McLaren duo though with Oscar Piastri finishing fourth and World Champion Lando Norris forced to retire.
Antonelli summed up his weekend by saying:
“It’s an incredible feeling to win in Monaco. It’s such a special weekend and one I’ll remember for a long time. Today was one of those days where everything just clicked; I had a lot of confidence in the car, felt strong throughout, and to bring the win home in a place like this makes it even more meaningful.
“From a race perspective, there were definitely some key moments to manage. The starts are still an area we’re working on, but I’ve made good progress. My first one was solid, and although the second was a bit more challenging with the tyres, it’s positive to see improvement.
“The red flag added a bit of stress, especially knowing the restart could change everything, but we handled it well. In the final laps, I really enjoyed myself out there, even though I still had to carefully manage the tyres. This track demands a lot of focus, you have to find the right balance between pushing and not making mistakes, and once you settle into that rhythm, everything starts to come together.
“At the same time, I know there’s still a lot to learn and improve. I just want to keep pushing, keep building on this momentum, and most importantly, keep enjoying the journey. That’s what makes moments like this so rewarding.”
George Russell commented:
“Firstly, congratulations to Kimi. He did an amazing job today and over the weekend and is a well-deserving winner. On my side, the race was very difficult. I had managed to get to P4 but the penalty for speeding in the pitlane is difficult to understand. I was under the limit but then that was compounded by us not serving the penalty at my second stop; that ultimately cost me a lot and left me with zero points again.
“It’s tough to take but I’m not going to give up. Across the last two races, I’ve effectively lost around 40 points. It’s incredibly frustrating but the rest of the season can still look very different. We saw that last year and, in many seasons previous. It’s unfortunate how things have played out so far but I’m aiming to bounce back in Barcelona. I believe in myself and I know what I’m capable of.”
Toto Wolff summed up this remarkable result by saying:
“Kimi delivered a very controlled race from start to finish today. It was a clean start, strong pace, and above all, very mature driving. It’s exactly what you want to see, and he was a well-deserving winner. Congratulations to him and the team.
“On George’s side, he had done a good job to get back into the battle for the podium but was unfortunate to receive a pitlane speeding penalty. That undid his race unfortunately and the subsequent drive-through penalty for not serving the penalty correctly ended with him out of the points. He has not felt fully confident in the car this weekend and that is on us as a team. We win and lose together, and this is something we will learn from and help him recover from.
“In terms of the bigger picture, we’re not talking about the championship at this stage. There are still many races to go, and while it’s been a positive start overall, we’ll take it step-by- step and see where we stand as the season develops.”
Having won five of the first six races this season, Antonelli goes into the next race in Barcelona this weekend with 156 points in the Drivers’ Championship and a comfortable 66 point lead over second placed man Lewis Hamilton on 90 points and George Russell just two points behind on 88 points.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is a UK-based motoring and travel journalist and editor, a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers and former saloon car racing driver.
Photographs courtesy of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team
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