Kimi Antonelli has written history at the Monaco Grand Prix: At 19 years and 286 days, the Mercedes driver is the youngest winner ever of Formula 1’s most prestigious street circuit. It was already his fifth consecutive triumph—after six of 22 season races, the Italian tops the championship standings with 156 points, holding a clear margin.
Behind Antonelli, record world champion Lewis Hamilton crossed the line second in the Ferrari, though the Englishman was handed a five-second penalty for a speeding violation in the pit lane. The race itself stayed uneventful for a long time before chaos erupted in the closing stages: local hero Charles Leclerc retired from third place after slamming into the barriers.
Earlier, a broken road surface behind the Rascasse corner had forced a red flag—marshals scrambled to remove the crumbling asphalt with sweepers and brooms while the drivers sat seemingly endlessly in the pit lane. At the restart, Antonelli stayed ice-cool. He even lapped his teammate George Russell, who missed the podium by a wide margin. Antonelli had been gifted an ideal start: Max Verstappen, who started the race from second place, pulled over immediately due to technical problems and blocked his rivals. Antonelli seized the opportunity and surged to the front early on. After one third of the race, he was already ten seconds ahead of Hamilton, who in turn held around six seconds over Leclerc.
McLaren suffered a dismal day at their 1000th Grand Prix in team history: reigning world champion Lando Norris retired on lap 46 of 78 due to technical problems, while Oscar Piastri managed to score points. A curious wave of penalties swept through the field: alongside Hamilton, Russell, Lance Stroll, Piastri, and Alpine drivers Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly all were penalized for speeding in the pit lane.
Nico Hülkenberg delivered a solid race and, finishing ninth, secured the first championship points for Audi—a historic moment for the team.
