Kimi Antonelli won a thrilling Italian Grand Prix on Sunday. In front of his home crowd, he moved up from the nineteenth starting position to the front and achieved – according to himself – his most beautiful victory so far. Ferrari, traditionally the absolute favorite at Monza, made a blunder, according to international media. Nevertheless, the young Antonelli – the new ‘king of Italy’ – got the tifosi on their feet. This is what the foreign press wrote about the Italian GP.
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At La Gazzetta dello Sport, of course, there are praising words for Antonelli. “Even Schumi and Verstappen cannot match him,” headlines the Italian sports newspaper. “John Watson still stands on a pedestal, but yesterday Kimi Antonelli tried to knock him off his pedestal. At least, for this epic performance. The record for the longest comeback in F1 history is still held by the 80-year-old Northern Irish driver, but the Italian championship leader made history with his sensational race.”
Disappointing red team
“The Italian Mercedes driver delivered a fine performance on the circuit by coming back from the back of the field to first place in the Monza Grand Prix, but he also won over the fans of the disappointing red team,” La Gazzetta criticized Ferrari. “The spectators witnessed something historic. Not only because Kimi Antonelli won on this circuit while starting from the penultimate position. But especially because on Ferrari’s home circuit the thousands of fans, dressed in T-shirts, caps, flags and – in some cases – red wigs, began to cheer and shout as if a Ferrari was leading the race.
Instead, there was the Mercedes of an Italian boy who, at only 20 years old and in his second season in Formula 1, is rewriting records. Ferrari remains Ferrari. But the emotions Antonelli caused today touched people deeply in their hearts.”
The yo-yo temple
The German BILD reacted somewhat critically to the spectacle in Monza. The Temple of Speed seemed more like a kind of ‘yo-yo temple’ under the new regulations, according to the editor on duty. “Monza is a temple of emotion, a temple of stars, even a temple of yo-yos – and a temple of crashes. There are 118,760 spectators present, and it seems as if 118,000 of them are wearing Ferrari red. They all watch in amazement at Charles Leclerc’s crash.”
“Overtaking maneuvers in abundance, drivers constantly overtaking each other – the yo-yo effect of Formula 1,” our eastern neighbors emphasize again. “Incredible: Antonelli started from nineteenth place. The last Italian to win at Monza was Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. The difference: Scarfiotti won in a Ferrari, Antonelli now in a Mercedes.”
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King Kimi Antonelli
“Antonelli achieved the best and most impressive victory of his career during the Italian GP,” writes Marca after the race weekend. “A race where Ferrari dominates, but where a new name stands on the threshold of his first F1 world title. It was insane at Monza. Perhaps because of the disorienting energy that disrupted the race and made it almost surreal,” the Spaniards say about the yo-yo effect. “But that does not detract from how this race will go down in the history books.”
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“With his new engine, Antonelli went like a rocket and Mercedes also called him in just in time for a pit stop. He now has a 66-point lead over George Russell thanks to a race in which Verstappen took a podium place,” some attention was still given to the Dutchman’s third place. Ferrari was not there. Sebastian Vettel thrilled the tifosi with his demonstration laps, but in the race their laughter quickly faded. The red flag caused by Leclerc made it easier for Antonelli. It brought the group together, after which Antonelli could move freely and claim the lead after just sixteen laps.”
“In the final phase, he overtook Russell again, although he made a mistake that landed him in the gravel trap,” the report continues. “From that moment on, he showed no mercy. Just before Ascari, he still passed him and Italy had a future champion again. The impact was brutal both in content and style. Winning in his own country, starting from a place where no one had ever started before. Verstappen also performed excellently, but his speed was only enough to keep the McLarens at bay.”
Perfect score
“At Ferrari, the faces were gloomy,” L’Équipe finally observed. “However, the tifosi had already forgotten their disappointment when the red wave flooded the circuit, from the Parabolica to the Variante del Rettifilo, at the foot of the podium. The reason: they could still sing the national anthem, even without a victory for their beloved team.” For his performance in Monza, Antonelli received a 10 on his report card from the French. “Master Antonelli continues to surprise in this 2026 season, in which he could become the absolute ruler in a few months.”
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