How Kimi Antonelli manifested his inner Max Verstappen to reveal a new F1 reality

In the immediate aftermath, there was no sign of a crestfallen George Russell. As Kimi Antonelli jumped for joy with his family and made his way to the ‘No 1’ platform in the Monza pit-lane, it was in fact third-placed Max Verstappen who smiled and embraced the 20-year-old. And the Red Bull driver could not help but raise a smile. Moments earlier, Verstappen had embraced Antonelli’s father Marco, a former national racer himself. In the Italian, perhaps the Dutchman saw an embodiment of himself, nine years his junior.

At the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, in what was undoubtedly the race of the year so far, Antonelli produced a masterclass in all-out speed, poise and panache. Starting 19th on the grid, the Mercedes driver made 26 overtakes in total to execute a triumph which was rated at 25/1 pre-race. Not the impossibility it perhaps seemed but, nonetheless, a startling feat as he became Italy’s first home grand prix winner since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.

Nobody in the modern era has won from so far down the order. Not even Verstappen: his great win in Brazil two years ago was from 17th. In fact, the only time in Formula 1 history that somebody has won a grand prix from a lower position was John Watson (22nd) at Long Beach in 1983. The magnitude of such a victory should not be understated. These are the greatest set of motor-racing drivers in the world: these things do not happen.

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“It’s unbelievable,” said an exuberant Antonelli. “I’m so happy and could never imagine to be here today. It’s a dream come true. What an incredible day.

“I woke up this morning and I felt very good mentally, I thought a good result would’ve been podium. After the red flag I was already P12, then top-five and I knew I had a shot for the win. It was difficult to break away, we managed to pull it off and bring it home.”

Even his engineer Peter Bonnington, the man who guided Lewis Hamilton to six world championships at the Silver Arrows, played down expectations. He told Martin Brundle on the grid that “around eighth” was where they’d hit some stumbling blocks. By the time of the red flag on lap four after Charles Leclerc’s massive shunt, Antonelli had already made his way up to 12th. After a lap or two of the restart, it was eighth. Then sixth. Then fifth.

It was at this point, glancing at the leaderboard around the circuit, that Russell knew he was in trouble. “I knew straight away he’d be in the mix,” the Brit would later say. Lo and behold, the McLarens and Ferrari of Hamilton ahead were no match.

Cue then the three-way battle of the season. Most of it was zig-zagging between Antonelli and Russell; two teammates and title rivals going hammer and tong. Verstappen, admirably, kept pace with the two faster cars for much of the contest, keeping within one second, ready to pounce.

For a set of regulations much criticised, this was the perfect rebuke. When Russell overtook down the main straight, a response from Antonelli on the Curva Grande seemed an inevitability; so much so it happened three times. Yet by the midway point, and a VSC, Russell still held the lead. And it was at this point that the pattern of the race shifted.

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Antonelli pitted onto fresher tyres and came out only 16 seconds behind his rival with 24 laps remaining. Should Russell have been the one to pit? Easier to say in hindsight, but perhaps so.

Effortlessly, Antonelli waded through the pack again until reaching Russell with a handful of laps remaining. And, such was the enormity of the moment, he fluffed his lines on attempt one, sliding into the gravel at the first chicane. But he quickly caught up and, in fact, made his move heading into the Variante Ascari chicane in the second sector, an uncommon spot to overtake. By that point, Russell knew the game was up.

“He was so controlled all race,” said Toto Wolff, who entrusted Antonelli with the shoes of Hamilton to fill when he left for Ferrari last year. How vindicated must the Mercedes team principal feel today.

“He kept his head down, took no risks at the beginning, then one by one… an amazing drive.”

The bigger picture? From a British perspective, it’s decidedly gloomy. Hamilton, after a disappointing sixth-place finish left him 76 points off the pace, declared himself out of the title race afterwards. Russell, now trailing by 66 points with a scheduled 10 rounds remaining, acknowledged that it would now be “exceptionally challenging to overcome that gap”, after a weekend which has to go down as one of the most despairing of his career despite his second-place finish.

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With Antonelli’s engine penalty, this was meant to be Russell’s opportunity to narrow the deficit. Instead, the Italian tore up the pre-race predictions and, with it, now has one hand on the championship trophy in his bid to become the sport’s youngest-ever champion. In reality, Russell now needs his teammate to retire at least once, maybe twice, to launch himself back in the fight. We expect Russell to take his grid hit in Azerbaijan in three weeks. All the cards are stacked against him.

“Definitely Kimi’s in control of and he’s deserving to be in control of it,” Russell, who took the defeat with good grace despite being booed on the podium, said. “For me personally, I’m not even thinking about a fight or a comeback or anything. I’m just focused on taking it race by race and trying to maximise every single weekend. He’s performing incredibly well.”

Next, it’s a new street race in Madrid, which gives Russell a chance to move on quickly. Yet Antonelli, basking in the Monza sunshine, would not have wanted this weekend to end. It was a statement performance; one of a champion-in-the-making.