After his heroic victory at the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1, obviously Kimi Antonelli was at the center of the main international newspapers. However, Max Verstappen also received a series of praises for his podium.
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Starting only from 19th position, the Mercedes driver managed to climb through the entire field and had an exciting battle against George Russell to win in front of the home crowd in Monza.
The Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport then wrote, “Kimi, you are already a legend. He had to start way back due to a grid penalty for a complete power unit change. In the end, he crossed the finish line first and achieved his best victory, the seventh of the season.”
“It was a veteran race, driven by a boy of only twenty years. Antonelli started back there, but was already in twelfth position after just one lap. He quickly overtook rivals who were not part of his fight for victory, gaining seven positions in very little time.”
Meanwhile, the Spanish newspaper AS pointed out that Verstappen and his third place were part of the ‘iconic’ race. “The mechanical superiority of the Silver Arrows was indisputable at the Temple of Speed,” it wrote. About Antonelli, it wrote that “he overtook almost the entire field in just six laps, powered by a turbocharged engine.”
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“Thus began a three-way duel between Russell, Verstappen, and Antonelli. Max resisted as much as he could, and the simple fact that he stayed in the fight is an achievement in itself. As the Mercedes drivers increased the pace, the gap became increasingly insurmountable,” it noted.
In the German newspaper Bild, it highlighted how incredible Antonelli’s feat of winning the F1 race in Monza was. “Unbelievable: Antonelli had started nineteenth. And he receives applause from fans dressed in red in the stands. The last Italian to win in Monza was Ludovico Scarfiotti, in 1966. The difference: Scarfiotti won with a Ferrari; Antonelli, now, with a Mercedes…”
Finally, in France, Le Figaro made a point of praising both Kimi and Max. “The Dutchman achieved his fourth podium in five years at the ‘Temple of Speed,’ extracting the maximum from a Red Bull that, before the race, was expected to have lost performance,” it wrote.
About the Italian, it noted that “another authoritative victory as a leader for someone who certainly does not drive like someone his age and who leads the world championship. A thrilling, methodical, and precise charge like clockwork through the field.”
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