Kimi Antonelli Dominates Italian Grand Prix, Lawson Struggles
Kimi Antonelli turned an Italian Grand Prix rescue mission into a statement of authority, charging from 19th on the grid to a seventh win of the season and tightening his grip on the world championship.
On a day when Liam Lawson needed everything to break his way, almost nothing did.
Antonelli’s masterclass, Russell’s frustration
Both Antonelli and George Russell arrived at Monza with identical machinery and very different afternoons ahead of them. Russell controlled the race from the front, did almost everything right, and still watched the win disappear in the closing laps.
The turning point came late.
A safety car bunched up the field and split the Mercedes strategies. Russell stayed out. Antonelli dived in, bolted on fresher tyres and went hunting. Once the race went green, the outcome felt inevitable. The teenager sliced into Russell’s advantage and, with the grip to lean on, completed the job to take the chequered flag.
Seventh victory of the season. Arguably his most ruthless. The margin that matters most, though, is at the top of the standings: Antonelli now leads Russell by 66 points, another heavy blow in a title fight that is beginning to tilt decisively in his favour.
Behind them, Max Verstappen salvaged third for Red Bull, a solid if unspectacular afternoon by his standards. For Pierre Gasly, it was a very different story. The surprise polesitter could not translate Saturday’s one-lap heroics into Sunday pace, slipping back to seventh as his Alpine faded over a full stint.
Lawson’s long afternoon
For Lawson, this was supposed to be the weekend that reignited his case for a full-time seat. Instead, it became a study in damage limitation and frustration.
Red Bull’s decision to change his engine – a strategic “free” swap with Isack Hadjar still injured – dropped the 24-year-old to the back and forced him into recovery mode from the moment the lights went out. His race began from the pit lane, but at least that spared him the chaos into the turn one chicane.
He made it count. Two cars cleared on the opening lap, 15th by the end of lap three. The early rhythm looked promising.
Then Charles Leclerc hit the wall at turn 11. The Ferrari in the barriers brought out a red flag and wiped away the early gains, resetting the race after a delay of more than half an hour.
On the restart, Lawson went back on the attack, only for his afternoon to unravel at turn four. Contact with Nico Hulkenberg damaged his front wing and forced Red Bull to call him in on lap 13. He rejoined down in 21st, staring at a long, lonely chase with only his pace for company.
He had plenty of that. Lawson carved into the backmarkers and, by lap 20, finally latched onto the pack again. Three more moves followed, including both Cadillacs, while Fernando Alonso’s retirement in the Aston Martin handed him another position. As the halfway mark approached, Lawson had clawed his way to 17th.
The gap to the next group sat at more than 20 seconds. A virtual safety car on lap 29, triggered when Lance Stroll stopped his Aston Martin on track, dragged him back into contention – but also left him exposed. Rivals ahead pitted for fresher tyres; Lawson stayed out, locked into a long, gruelling stint.
He still found a way to fight. The Red Bull picked off the two Haas cars of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman, and when Williams brought Alex Albon in late, Lawson gained yet another place. He took the flag on tyres that had survived 41 laps, a testament to his management and perseverance, but with no points to show for it.
“It’s a shame. I think we would have come through.” The verdict matched the body language: a driver who knew the performance was there, the circumstances weren’t.
Mixed fortunes for the Red Bull family
While Lawson toiled, others in the Red Bull orbit cashed in.
Verstappen’s third place underlined Red Bull’s consistency at the front, even on a day when they never quite owned the race. Behind him, Racing Bulls quietly put together a valuable haul. Arvid Lindblad crossed the line eighth, Yuki Tsunoda 10th, banking a double-points finish that could prove important when the constructors’ table is finally totted up.
The only downside for them: their cushion in the fight for fifth in the constructors’ championship shrank to 13 points. Progress, but under pressure.
At the other end of the ledger, it was a bruising afternoon for Aston Martin. Both cars failed to finish, Alonso retiring before half distance and Stroll stopping later to bring out the virtual safety car that reshaped the midfield battle. Leclerc’s early crash capped a miserable home race for Ferrari.
Madrid on the horizon
Formula One now heads straight into the unknown: the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, the second leg of a double-header that closes out the European season.
Antonelli arrives with momentum and a widening championship lead. Russell turns up knowing he drove well enough to win and still lost. Verstappen, as ever, lurks.
And Lawson? He will hope for at least one more outing in Hadjar’s seat. Another chance, another circuit, and maybe this time a weekend where the pace and the result finally line up.
