Formula 1 prodigy Kimi Antonelli has claimed his fifth consecutive victory, the most significant of his young career, becoming the youngest ever Monaco Grand Prix champion with a masterful performance. The 19-year-old left his rivals in awe once again with his precocious talent, while Australian Oscar Piastri pondered what could have been after narrowly missing a podium finish, eventually settling for fourth place following a chaotic race that saw Pierre Gasly stripped of a third-place result.
Antonelli's Dominance
Like the rest of the field, Piastri, who gained three positions after starting seventh, was merely a supporting actor as not even a late safety car deployment and a subsequent red flag suspension to inspect a crumbling surface at the final corner could stop the young Mercedes driver. Antonelli had been leading by 30 seconds and was on track for perhaps the most decisive Monaco triumph this century. Instead, he had to first hold off his pursuers after a safety car caused by a crash for Lance Stroll, then once repairs were carried out to the same spot after Charles Leclerc also crashed there, triggering the red flag, he had to endure another standing start with just eight laps remaining. Yet Antonelli was the epitome of cool, again roaring away to win comfortably by over six seconds from all-time great Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari.
Hamilton's Milestone
On a significant day for Hamilton, watched by his new girlfriend Kim Kardashian in the paddock, the 41-year-old equaled Ayrton Senna's record of eight podium finishes in the Principality and now sits second in the championship, albeit a distant 66 points behind Antonelli. "It's been an incredible weekend and an incredible race," beamed the youngster, who wasn't even born when an Italian last won in Monaco — Jarno Trulli in 2004. But Hamilton, the previous youngest Monaco winner when he won in 2008 at age 23, told Antonelli in the cool-down room: "That's too many wins now, buddy!"
Piastri's Near Miss
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar finished a distant third, but for a while after the race, Piastri thought he might be promoted from fourth to third as the Frenchman was under investigation by the stewards. That had been wholly unlikely when Piastri was lying sixth after the late red flag, but among those ahead of the Australian, George Russell had to serve a drive-through penalty which eventually left him out of the points, Gasly also faced two five-second penalties, and Hadjar was being investigated. Gasly celebrated a third-place finish on his cool-down lap after ignoring his concerned engineer's message to 'wait' as concern grew over a pit-lane speeding penalty. The Frenchman later said he felt "robbed" to lose the podium result as Alpine quickly filed a request for a right to review. "I don't think there is anything that could hurt me more right now," he said. "It's 10 years I'm f***ing working my ass off for this type of moment. We did everything right today (to be) standing on that podium in front of all the fans that turned up. This is the type of moment that for me can't be taken away from us by unfair reasons. What's going on right now is not right and hopefully they can make the right choice."
Piastri's Reflection
Piastri is now on 60 points in fifth, ahead of sixth-placed Norris on 58. Leclerc is fourth on 75, with Russell on 88, Hamilton on 90, and Antonelli on 156. "When you gain three positions in Monaco, it's always a good day," smiled Piastri, who even moved ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the overall standings after the world champion retired with a power unit problem. "We did a good job taking advantage of the opportunities that arose in front of us and being smart with the strategy. Securing those 12 points was important, but our pace wasn't very strong and we need to figure out why we had so many difficulties this weekend." Eventually, the Australian, who had earlier also been among a swathe of drivers who received five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane, had to settle for fourth when Hadjar was cleared by stewards over the alleged red flag infringement. His podium made some amends for Red Bull after Max Verstappen had earlier stalled on the front row at the start and retired after a lap with a power unit issue.
Hamilton's Praise
As for Antonelli, even Hamilton could hardly believe his progress. "He's only 19, so just imagine what the future holds for him, it's a real privilege to witness it," smiled the seven-time champion. "But I'm going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year."
