A place in the history books is assured for Kimi Antonelli as, at just 19, he became the youngest ever winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, but it was the manner of his consummate victory on the streets of Monte Carlo that made a truly indelible mark. For much of the race there were few fireworks in Monaco but when it mattered Antonelli burned brightly.
The Italian still has but one season in Formula One under his belt and only one previous outing in Monaco, where he finished in last place, but, having already claimed pole position, Antonelli mastered it like an old hand on Sunday. If he is to be prevented from becoming the youngest- ever world champion this year, then the challenge is going to have to be mighty strong indeed.
The Italian teenager delivered an exhibition to take victory from the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in second and the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar in third. What made the win so striking was not just the complete control he had for the majority of the race, having held his lead at the off, but how he handled a dramatic closing phase of two restarts that had eradicated the 30-second lead he had built.
Antonelli had to weather first the tense final moments of a safety car restart and then the immense pressure of a full standing start after a red flag prompted when the track itself was breaking up at the final corner.
It presented a dramatic final showdown, with the fast-starting Ferrari of Hamilton on the front row next to Antonelli, and while the Italian was a little slow away, a moment surely when his heart was in his mouth, he held his line, nerve and the place, a lead he maintained to the flag.
The questions were asked of him repeatedly and every time he had the answers. If there are weaknesses in his game, that he may be impetuous, overexcitable perhaps, they were not on display in Monaco. There was only calm, cold commitment, tempered at the close by a pleasingly noisy explosion of joy as a reminder that there is still a teenager in there too.
The team principal, Toto Wolff, who has not joined a podium ceremony for a decade, was there to stand alongside the driver he had fast-tracked into the team last season to replace Hamilton and who is delivering beyond all expectations.
Antonelli now has five victories in a row this season, promoting Hamilton to joke with him in the cool-down room: “That’s too many wins now, buddy.” The seven-time champion knows only too well what it means in a title fight, where the Italian has opened a cavernous lead.
His Mercedes teammate, George Russell, endured what might politely be called a trying afternoon but which he will feel deserves a more splenetic response. He was penalised twice, once for speeding in the pit lane and then for failing to serve the five-second penalty during a pit stop, with a subsequent drive-through later in the race, leaving him in 13th, his second race in a row without scoring points.
It was another bruising blow to his chances, which he said left him “beyond frustration” as he fell to 68 points behind Antonelli, with Hamilton moving up to second in the championship, 66 in arrears.
While the race had been much of the procession that Monaco so often presents, one where Antonelli was dominant beyond anything the team or driver had been expecting, it turned into high drama at the close. Surely no one watching had “track surface breaking up” on their bingo card, alongside tax-dodging expats and garish, vulgar yachts. Yet here it was, the track crumbling at the final corner, Antony Noghès.
First, Lance Stroll went straight into the barriers there, prompting a safety car 18 laps from the end. The field now on his gearbox, Antonelli had to control the restart, a task he managed with clinical precision, only for Charles Leclerc to also go straight on into the barriers struggling with his brakes, again at Antony Noghès. It prompted a red flag as the race director had to inspect the track at the corner which was breaking up, clearly a factor in the two crashes.
With repairs made and racing able to resume after a 35-minute delay, a standing start was called. Once more, Antonelli was staring at the dash to Sainte Dévote, the seven-time champion fired up and gunning for him just yards behind. The Mercedes has endured repeated difficult starts this season and Antonelli knew it. High noon in Monte Carlo.
Several deep breaths later and it was done, and with it the record Hamilton had held since he was the youngest winner here aged 23 in 2008. The torch was passed to a driver who shows every sign of developing into the same kind of generational talent as Hamilton.
Max Verstappen, who started on the front row alongside Antonelli, was left disappointed as his Red Bull suffered a technical problem when the lights went out and had to retire his car. Lando Norris, the defending world champion, had to retire for the second race in a row with a mechanical problem, while his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, was fourth.
