A victory for eternity! Kimi Antonelli won his home race at Monza on Sunday and became the first Italian Monza winner since 1966. After having to start from P19 due to a grid penalty, he took control of the race and edged out teammate George Russell at the last moment. The young championship leader was visibly emotional after the race.
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Cheering and shouting, Antonelli crossed the finish line first at Monza on Sunday. “Grazie a tutti,” he beamed afterwards on the grid. “It’s incredible, I’m so happy. I never dared to dream of this. We actually managed to win here. I couldn’t be happier.” In the final phase, Antonelli used his fresh tires to get past Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen. In the closing laps, he only had to deal with Russell. It was nail-biting for the 20-year-old Italian, who even made a brief excursion into the gravel trap.
Dream come true
“It was quite scary. I thought I would make the corner, but in the end, I ended up in the gravel,” he responded. “For a moment, I thought I had lost it, but luckily we still had enough pace in the car. After the second restart, I already knew I could win today, especially when I only had George (Russell, ed.) ahead of me. Still, it was difficult to pull away in the end, but with the fresher tires, I had the advantage.”
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“It’s a dream come true,” he emphasized again. “What an incredible day. I wouldn’t have achieved this without my team and my family. There are still some races to go and we will give our best, but let’s enjoy this moment today.”
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