Kimi Antonelli wins Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid

Kimi Antonelli became the first Italian in 60 years to win his home Formula One Grand Prix, completing an extraordinary recovery from 19th on the starting grid at Monza.

The 20-year-old Mercedes driver began near the back after penalties for power-unit changes, but had already climbed to 12th when the race was stopped following Charles Leclerc’s second-lap crash. Leclerc left his car apparently unhurt.

After the restart, Antonelli continued moving through the field and first reached the lead on lap 18. His main contest was with Mercedes teammate and championship rival George Russell. A virtual safety car later allowed Antonelli to switch to fresh medium tyres while Russell remained on older hard tyres.

Antonelli closed the gap, recovered from an unsuccessful late passing attempt that took him into the gravel, and then overtook Russell to secure victory. He finished the 53-lap race 3.857 seconds ahead, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third.

The result was Antonelli’s seventh win of the season and extended his championship lead over Russell to 66 points after 13 rounds. It also made him the first Italian to win the Italian Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti achieved the feat for Ferrari in 1966.