Antonelli Wins Italian GP From 19th On Grid — SkimNews
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- Kimi Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid after a red flag (triggered by Charles Leclerc's crash) left him P12 with a clear road ahead, and Mercedes split strategies by pitting him under a later Virtual Safety Car.
- Toto Wolff said he foresaw the win on Saturday, telling media he believed one of his two Mercedes drivers would win and that Antonelli would 'walk over water' at Monza — a quote Wolff also said Antonelli's father agreed with.
- George Russell, who led much of the race after passing pole-sitter Pierre Gasly, lost the lead when Mercedes pitted Antonelli under the VSC, rejoining 14.3 seconds behind; Antonelli caught him with five laps to go and passed him on the straight between Lesmo and Ascari.
- The championship standings moved decisively in Antonelli's favor — he now leads Russell by 66 points, and Russell publicly conceded the title is 'almost a lost cause,' saying 'it's going to be exceptionally challenging to overcome that gap.'
- Wolff framed the victory as 'how the circle closed' after Antonelli's high-profile 2024 free-practice crash at the same circuit, which Wolff called 'probably the toughest moment in his career' — a moment he said 'everyone doubted, including himself.'
- The win made history as the first by an Italian driver at his home Grand Prix in 60 years, with Wolff comparing his rapid development to 'an AI agent that continuously self-improves and learns.'
Why it matters: The result turns Mercedes' intra-team title fight into a near-formality: Antonelli now holds a 66-point lead over Russell with limited races remaining, and Russell himself publicly conceded a comeback is 'exceptionally challenging.' For Antonelli personally, the win redeems a 2024 Monza debut crash that Wolff said 'everyone doubted,' and ends a 60-year drought for an Italian winning his home Grand Prix.
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