ANTONELLI WINS HIS HOME RACE! THE FIRST ITALIAN TO DO SO SINCE 1966

Formula One and Monza is an iconic partnership. The Temple of Speed is always an exciting race and this year was no different. It was heart break for Ferrari but the Tifosi will be leaving with a smile on thier faces as home hero Kimi Antonelli comes from 19th to first to win his home race, becoming the first Italian driver since Ludovic Scarfiotti in 1966 to do so. George Russell made it a Mercedes one-two with Max Verstappen finishing third in another solid race for the Red Bull driver.

It was a good start from pole sitter Pierre Gasly in the Alpine as he holds the lead into turn one ahead of Russell, Charles Leclerc who is third with Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri fighting for fourth and fifth.

Sadly the dream didnt last long for 2020 winner of this race Gasly as the Mercedes of Russell leads after passing the Alpine on the start finish straight on just the second lap as the lack of race pace in the Alpine becomes apparent.

But before anything else could happen... LECLERC CRASHES IN DRAMATIC FASHION - he had a snap of oversteer on the exit of the final corner and crashes out of the race. The same place he crashed in 2020 in the year Gasly won the race. There was a brief Safety Car before the stewards put out the red flag so they could fix the tyre barrier.

We resumed the race on lap six after three laps in formation and we got back underway with the second standing start of the day with a great start from Russell, now on pole position, who leads into turn one with Franco Colapinto up into third ahead of Verstappen but very quickly Max gets the position back just a corner later as Colapinto goes into the gravel in Lesmo 1, dropping down to seventeeth place at the time.

It looked to be going from good to great for Max Verstappen as he takes the lead of the race on lap twelve. He passes Russell on the start finish straight and now holds the lead of the race - the third different race leader.

Bu that lead only last four laps as on lap sixteen Russell leads again! Antonelli takes second after starting nineteenth.

And the yoyoing continued as two laps later on lap eighteen Antonelli is back in front!

By lap twenty eight both Stroll had stopped on track and Fernando Alonso had pitted and retired. Another disappointing weekend for Aston Martin.

Stroll stopping on track caused a VSC which Mercedes took advantage of as they pit Kimi for fresh tyres in what felt like the team gifting Kimi the victory as he will have much fresher tyres than his teammate at the end of the race.

By lap forty nine Antonelli has caught back up to George who leads and Antonelli goes for the overtake into turn one with Russell going wide but then Kimi goes off into the gravel! Just delaying the inevitable.

And it was just one lap later on lap fifty when Kimi did what he needed to do and he leads once again. Starting from ninteenth to in the race - it was reminisent of Verstappen in Brazil in 2024. A drive of champions you might say.

Antonelli now with a sixty six point lead over Russell in the championship.

The next race is the inuagral Madrid Grand Prix.

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