Kimi Antonelli ran virtually untroubled to his maiden Monaco victory. After retaining his lead off the start, the Mercedes driver survived two safety cars, a red flag and a late race restart to take his fifth consecutive career victory. With this win, Antonelli has extended his championship lead to a daunting 66 points.
Behind him was an ecstatic Lewis Hamilton. After jumping off to second off the line, Hamilton had the measure of his teammate Charles Leclerc throughout. The pace advantage of the Mercedes would prove too much for the seven-time world champion, but with his third podium of the season, Hamilton has leapt up to second place in the drivers’ championship.
By contrast, Isack Hadjar had an eventful ride to third. Starting fifth, Hadjar was plagued by power unit issues throughout and came under intense pressure from both Lando Norris and George Russell. Despite his complaints, the 21-year-old held his nerve and benefited from the misfortune of those around him to take his first podium for Red Bull. However, Hadjar’s third place could be under threat as he was noted for a red flag infringement and is currently under investigation. Regardless of the outcome, Hadjar’s performance this weekend has served as a much-needed confidence boost.
Incumbered by the McLaren’s lack of pace, Oscar Piastri had a somewhat quiet afternoon. The Australian spent much of the race in sixth but was given a five-second time penalty on lap 56. Piastri finished fourth on the road but could be elevated to third, should Hadjar be penalised. A result that would serve as some consolation to McLaren, whose 1000th Grand Prix weekend has been littered with technical issues.
Another beneficiary of the chaos was Liam Lawson. After a solid performance in qualifying, Lawson ran in the points for the majority of the race after an early stop. A flurry of late race incidents elevated Lawson to fifth, which equals his best result in Formula 1. His teammate Arvid Lindblad made a daring move around the outside of Alex Albon on the main straight on lap 49 and later secured a career best sixth to make it a memorable day for RB.
After leapfrogging Lando Norris for eighth off the start, Pierre Gasly spent the majority of the race defending from Norris and George Russell. Norris ground to a halt with engine issues on lap 45, while Russell was awarded a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The Mercedes driver later crossed the white line on the pitlane exit, which earned him a second five-second penalty. The team failed to serve the penalty correctly, which resulted in a drive-through for Russell in the closing stages. He eventually finished out of the points in 13th, a result that has pushed him down to third in the drivers’ standings, 68 points Behind Antonelli.
Unfortunately for Gasly, these events were not ones from which he could benefit. Two separate five-second penalties for speeding in the pitlane meant that, having finished third on the road, Gasly was later demoted to seventh.
Alex Albon finished eighth ahead of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. A late race penalty for Nico Hulkenberg elevated Perez to tenth, Cadillac’s first points finish in Formula 1. After enduring his worst-ever qualifying performance in Monaco on Saturday, Fernando Alonso was able to progress to 11th in the race. Gabriel Bortoleto had a late race skirmish with Carlos Sainz en route to 12th ahead of Russell, Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto. Late race tangles with Bortoleto and Colapinto denied Carlos Sainz a possible points finish.
After spending much of the race in third – albeit some way off the pace of his teammate – Charles Leclerc’s afternoon came to an ignominious end on lap 65. As the safety car – engendered by Lance Stroll – came into the pits, Leclerc suffered brake issues and speared into the barriers at turn 18. Afterwards, an understandably furious Leclerc refused to blame the incident on driver error and stated that the “data speaks for itself”.
Stroll came unstuck in the same place on lap 60. Ollie Bearman was forced to retire with technical issues, Valtteri Bottas fell victim to the brake problems that have plagued Cadillac all weekend, while Max Verstappen’s impressive front row start came to nought. The four-time world champion reported engine issues on the formation lap and was unable to launch off the line. Verstappen later said the engine “dropped dead” and left him with no option but to limp back to the pits.
Having taken victory at one of the most challenging venues of all, Kimi Antonelli has stamped his authority on this world championship. There may be 16 races left to run, but with 66 points now in hand, the teenager is now firmly in command.
