(FORMULA 1) – KIMI Antonelli avoided the late drama of the Monaco Grand Prix to consolidate his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings even further, beating Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar in an exhilarating race that saw seven drivers retire.
At lights out in Monaco, the Mercedes racer calmly maintained first place as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen faced a devastating issue at the start that saw him slide down the order before he became the first to DNF.
While others struggled with various mechanical problems that forced them out of the action, including Valtteri Bottas and McLaren driver Lando Norris, Antonelli consistently opened up his advantage over the Ferrari pair of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
However, his win was threatened with around 20 laps remaining when Lance Stroll crashed at the final corner of the Circuit de Monaco, bringing out a Safety Car that allowed many to take a second pit stop without losing too much time. It may have put Antonelli’s lead in danger, but it offered a brilliant opportunity for those who had been handed time penalties for speeding in the pit lane to serve them during the race.
The restart was short-lived as local favourite Leclerc experienced an identical crash to Stroll’s and the event was halted to inspect track break-up at the site. His DNF helped promote Hadjar to his first Red Bull podium – Pierre Gasly finished ahead on the road but dropped down the order thanks to two five-second penalties – with Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson taking fourth and fifth place.
Arvid Lindblad added to a superb day for Racing Bulls as he sealed P6 ahead of Gasly in seventh, Alex Albon in eighth and Esteban Ocon in ninth. Cadillac initially thought they had achieved their first points with Sergio Perez, but he was later penalised for a false start after the red flag and received a 10-second time penalty, dropping him to last place. This meant that Aston Martin could celebrate their first top-10 finish of the season with Fernando Alonso.
Just outside of the points was Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who led from a heavily penalised George Russell. His team mate Nico Hulkenberg dropped to P14 at the chequered flag, with Franco Colapinto and Perez the last of the finishers.
Verstappen was the first shock retirement of the day as his car appeared to go into anti-stall at lights out, forcing him to watch every other driver sail past him before he returned to the pits shortly after. He was later joined by Lando Norris, who suffered issues with the power in his McLaren and failed to score points for the first round this season.
Ollie Bearman, Valtteri Bottas, Stroll, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were the other non-finishers, with the Finn enduring further brake problems that plagued the squad all weekend while Stroll and the Ferrari man crashed into the wall late on. Sainz got caught up in two unfortunate incidents with Hulkenberg and Colapinto after the restart, leaving Albon as the sole points scorer for Williams.
