06/07/26 11:40:00
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06/07 11:39 CDT Kimi Antonelli wins delayed Monaco Grand Prix to extend his
victory streak and F1 lead
Kimi Antonelli wins delayed Monaco Grand Prix to extend his victory streak and
F1 lead
MONACO (AP) --- Kimi Antonelli is writing his place in Formula 1 history at
record speed.
"You're catching me up," Lewis Hamilton, who has the most wins in history with
105, told Antonelli after the 19-year-old Italian beat him in a bizarre and
much-delayed Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
Antonelli replaced Hamilton at Mercedes last year, and only won his first race
in March. He now has five wins in a row and a vast lead of 66 points over
Hamilton.
Antonelli said he needed to find his focus again but stayed cool when the race
was stopped and briefly seemed set to be abandoned before a restart. All that
on a tight, twisty circuit threaded between metal barriers where any slip
brings a crash.
An uncertain restart
Antonelli was on course for victory with 10 laps remaining when the race was
red-flagged after parts of the asphalt broke away and two cars crashed in quick
succession, one of them Charles Leclerc in third place.
After a long delay, officials said the race would be resumed from a standing
start. When that happened, Antonelli took control again to become the youngest
F1 winner in Monaco, and was never in real danger of being overtaken.
"Thank you so much guys, the car was a beast today," he told the Mercedes team.
Hamilton was second as a raft of penalties and investigations meant other
positions weren't immediately clear. Isack Hadjar was on the podium in third
for Red Bull after battling engine problems but was one of those under
investigation.
Antonelli's Mercedes teammate George Russell missed the points for the second
race running, dropping out of the top 10 with a penalty. That followed an
engine failure while battling Antonelli for the lead of last month's Canadian
Grand Prix.
Russell said Thursday the title was Antonelli's "to lose." Now it certainly
seems that way.
Max Verstappen started second for Red Bull but lost power at the start and
dropped to the back before retiring the car at the end of the first lap. Like
many F1 drivers, the four-time champion lives in Monaco and suggested he'd
watch the rest of the race from home.
Confusion continues after the finish
The track damage put a decidedly un-glamorous twist on one of F1's most
prestigious races as drivers waited in the pit lane, officials gazed at the
damaged asphalt and a road-sweeping machine inched along the circuit clearing
away loose stones. Antonelli admitted he'd been hoping the race wouldn't be
restarted at all.
There was more confusion as numerous drivers received time penalties or were
under investigation, meaning the final standings remained uncertain.
Hadjar was facing an investigation after the race for a potential breach of
red-flag rules. That raised the possibility that McLaren's Oscar Piastri could
be promoted from fifth on track to third Sunday evening, ahead of Hadjar and
Gasly.
Russell had been second in the standings before the race --- the position is
Hamilton's now. Russell ended the day in 13th after a hefty penalty for failing
to serve an earlier penalty properly. He said he didn't understand what
happened.
Sergio Perez crossed the line 10th, which would earn new team Cadillac its
first F1 point, but he too was facing an investigation over a possible false
start at the restart.
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