Kimi Antonelli experienced a tense moment in the final laps of the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1, when he believed he had lost the chance to win in Monza. The Italian, however, managed to recover and achieved a historic victory in front of his home crowd.
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Antonelli started in 19th position and overtook George Russell on the 50th of 53 laps to win by 3.8 seconds. The result also made him the first Italian to win his home GP since Ludovico Scarfiotti, for Ferrari, in 1966.
The most delicate moment happened on lap 49, when Antonelli went off at the exit of turn 2 and went through the gravel area. The Mercedes driver stated that the asphalt was deteriorating and that, after going into the gravel, he thought his victory had slipped away.
“It was quite scary at that moment because the asphalt was breaking up, but I still thought I could make the corner. When I went a bit into the gravel as well, I went straight and thought: ‘Maybe I lost my chance’,” Antonelli said.
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However, the recovery was immediate: “But fortunately, we still had pace and managed to take the car to the end,” added the Italian, who highlighted having believed in the possibility of victory after the second restart, especially when he started to pressure Russell.
Strategy also played an important role in the outcome. Russell stayed on track while Antonelli went to the pits, and the Italian driver took advantage of fresher tires to increase the pace in the final laps and secure his seventh career victory.
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