Source -
Formula OneAndrea Kimi Antonelli has his first grand slam F1 victory in a Monaco Grand Prix worth waiting for. The young Italian secured pole, led every lap, and won the race for that accolade as he continues what increasingly seems to be his march to the championship. Behind the Mercedes, though, was a race that descended into unpredictability, penalties, and crashes in its final half after the expected procession early on. Although Antonelli stayed in P1 from start to finish, there were position changes for every other driver behind him on the opening tour. Max Verstappen, the driver sharing the front row, could not get off the line and tumbled to the back to become the first retirement. The two Ferrari cars were the beneficiaries to inherit the podium positions, with Lewis Hamilton leading home hero Charles Leclerc around the twisty track. Things quickly settled into a familiar Monte Carlo rhythm of formation driving. Pierre Gasly was able to leap past reigning champion Lando Norris off at Turn 1, but things remained in place for the remaining runners. Most of the attention came on George Russell's pursuit of Isack Hadjar, with the Mercedes looking far quicker than the Red Bull. Despite his probes and proximity to the Frenchman's rear wing, though, there was no way through for the Briton whose miserable day was just beginning.
Pit stops to swap Pirelli tyres became the way to pass, as so often is the case in Monaco, and Russell's move ahead of Hadjar came on a swap from the Medium compound. Undercutting Red Bull helped the Mercedes man into what would be a net P4 position once others had pitted. The McLarens looked like they were trying to go long, though, and remained ahead of both drivers until a mechanical failure hit Norris, who was forced to retire from a second consecutive Grand Prix. A speeding penalty came down from the stewards, though, with Russell deemed to have gone too fast in the pit lane. His punishment was not the only one, though, with multiple drivers being found guilty of the same offence. Hamilton and Franco Colapinto were also stung with a time penalty, as it became increasingly clear something else was going on. A tweak to the pit exit lines to accommodate the 11th team, Cadillac, seemed to have affected the speed measurement points. And still more would follow later. Further back, the midfield was scrapping for the final points-paying position. Alex Albon had Williams teammate Carlos Sainz holding up the pack to create a gap to pit and emerge back into. The Grove-based team's plan worked, but Albon could not fully hold back the charge when tasked with helping Sainz do the same. An on-track pass for Arvid Lindblad had the Racing Bulls driver get ahead to scupper the plan, but more points would soon come on offer.
To find out more about our comprehensive range of services, or to book your vehicle in, contact our friendly team of experts today.
Back-to-back safety car appearances came as Lance Stroll, then Leclerc, found the barriers at Anthony Noghes corner. Track degradation appeared to have impacted both drivers when running a little wide, and a red flag soon followed to assess the situation. The first safety car, though, caused further impact, as Hamilton was able to swap tyres and serve his penalty without losing a position to Leclerc. Russell, meanwhile, lost out to Hadjar and failed to serve his penalty with a front-left tyre swap coming too soon, resulting in a drive-through penalty instead. A lengthy red flag stoppage finally had the race resume from a standing start, and Antonelli once again kept his cool to remain in P1. Hamilton followed, with Russell and Gasly managing to jump Hadjar into the Sainte Devote Turn 1. Russell then drove incredibly slowly around the track, backing up the pack behind him, which led to a double incident for Sainz.
Nico Hulkenberg hit the Spaniard at the hairpin before Colapinto turned the Williams around two corners later.
Russell soon stopped for his penalty, leaving Gasly sitting in P3, but also with two speeding penalties hanging over him. Russell tumbled out of the points, while Gasly fell back to P7 to allow Hadjar to join Antonelli and Hamilton on the podium in a chaotic finish to the race. Piastri somehow took P4, with the Racing Bulls duo advancing to P5 and P6 after Lindblad benefited from not stopping and swapping his Pirellis under the red flag.
Antonelli heads to Barcelona this weekend with a sizeable 66-point advantage now. And, incredibly, his nearest rival is no longer Russell, but Hamilton. Russell's two points-less weekends in Canada and Monaco could prove terminal in his hopes of becoming an F1 champion. But with the stop-start season finally set to give consistent race weekends, who knows what the table will look like by the summer break.
