Antonelli dominates fifth win in a row ahead of Hamilton at Monaco GP

Mercedes Kimi Antonelli dominated his way to victory at an eventful Monaco Grand Prix, to take his first race win in the Principality, beating Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton after a late red flag.

Feature image credit:  Mercedes F1

Antonelli took pole position on Saturday, and the Italian did not relinquish the lead when the lights went out as the championship leader led from lights-to-flag, dominating and controlling his way to his fifth straight career victory.

Although he had Red Bull’s Max Verstappen starting alongside him, the Dutchman suffered power unit problems at the race start, bogging him down at the lights, allowing both Ferraris to slip on by as he fell to the back. Verstappen was forced to retire at the end of the opening lap.

This left both Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to pass him, in second and third. However, neither Ferrari was able to keep up with the ultra-quick Antonelli.

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The stewards quickly became busy when the pit stops started to fall, with several drivers being caught out with infringements of pit lane speeding. Some of those included the likes of Hamilton and Mercedes’ George Russell.

In the dying stages of the race, the safety car made its appearance on lap 60 of 78 after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll nose-dived into the final corner of the circuit. 

A flurry of action erupted in the pit lane as many drivers pulled into the pits to get a fresh set of tyres, and it allowed those to serve their time penalties. However, Russell was slapped with a drive-through penalty after his mechanics failed to serve the Briton’s penalty. This dropped the #63 out of the points, in a weekend where his teammate continues to extend his championship lead. 

Ferrari looked to be on course for a 2-3 finish at Monaco, after the first safety car on lap 60, where Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crashed out at the final corner. However, on the restart, it Leclerc hit a decaying section of the Monaco circuit, which had been recently resurfaced. The Monegasque quickly understeered into the barrier as a result of both a problem with his brakes and the loss of grip due to the

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As Hamilton finished second behind Antonelli, and with Russell out of the points, it means Hamilton moves up to second place overall in the drivers championship, 66 points adrift of Mercedes’ Italian star. Russell dropped down to third overall, two points behind his former teammate.

There are still some investigations which are set to be concluded after the Monaco Grand Prix, notably, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who is being investigated for a red-flag infringement.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, it could see McLaren’s Oscar Piastri being promoted into the final podium spot after Hadjar secured third place behind Antonelli and Hamilton.

The race result

1. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes – 
2. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +6.271s
3. Isack Hadjar*, Red Bull Racing +23.394
4. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +24.261s
5. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +26.553s
6. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +29.01s
7. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +30.369s
8. Alexander Albon, Williams +33.413s
9. Esteban Ocon, Haas +37.14s
10. Sergio Perez*, Cadillac +39.153s
11. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +41.899s
12. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +42.748s
13. George Russell, Mercedes +43.353s
14. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +44.102s
15. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +48.964s

*Investigation that remains in place

Retirements (in order of): 

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, lap 1
2. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac, lap 18 
3. Oliver Bearman, Haas, lap 30
4. Lando Norris, McLaren, lap 46
5. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, lap 60
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, lap 66
7. Carlos Sainz, Williams, lap 71

Read more Formula 1 here:

• ‘It didn’t click’ Russell says after qualifying P6 for Monaco GP
• Antonelli ‘delivering as a driver’ says Verstappen ahead of Monaco GP
• Charles Leclerc’s confidence paid ‘the price’ in Monaco GP qualifying
• Antonelli pips Verstappen to seal Monaco Grand Prix pole
• Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur to miss Saturday running after medical checks
• McLaren fined for technical breach at Monaco GP
• Hamilton tops second practice at Monaco Grand Prix

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.