Sensational Antonelli wins Italian GP from back of grid

AFP | Monza

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Championship leader Kimi Antonelli delivered one of the most sensational triumphs in the long history of the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday when he became the first home winner in 60 years after starting from 19th on the grid.

The 20-year-old Mercedes driver, from nearby Emilia Romagna, claimed his seventh win of the season to extend his lead in the drivers’ title race as he seeks to become Italy’s first world champion since Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari in 1953.

He is the first domestic winner of the Italian GP since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.

In a thrilling, helter-skelter race of wild yo-yo overtaking moves, Antonelli came home 3.857 seconds ahead of his teammate and title rival George Russell, who is now 66 points adrift in the championship, with four-time champion Max Verstappen third for Red Bull.

For the impassioned Italian crowd, his win was some consolation for their disappointment in seeing Ferrari endure a humiliating flop with Charles Leclerc crashing out on lap two, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finishing sixth behind the McLaren pair of world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Antonelli had started at the back of the grid after taking penalties for power-unit changes, but showed searing pace throughout as he carved through the field — benefiting from an early red flag stoppage — before outracing Russell to the line.