From Monza
Winning a Grand Prix starting from nineteenth position is a feat for few, possible only when the best driver meets the best car. This is what happened in Monza, where Mercedes proved to still be the benchmark when it comes to sprinting on the straight, but also to have the best interpreter of this Formula 1 in-house. On another historic day for Italian motorsport, Ferrari is instead missing from the call, lacking both technically and sportingly.
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Kimi’s comeback
Antonelli’s victory confirms that Mercedes had made the right decision. In this new Formula 1, Monza has become a track particularly favorable for comebacks and therefore the best for clearing grid penalties. None of this, however, diminishes what Kimi managed to do, because even though there was no doubt he would recover to the very top positions, the speed with which he did it was surprising.
It’s true, many overtakes Antonelli made were on the straight, exploiting the horsepower of the Mercedes power unit and the energy logic of a Formula 1 that has made position changes too easy. Kimi, however, on more than one occasion had to brake hard and fight for position at the apex, without losing time and making maneuvers that were actually not simple look easy. “The difference today was made in navigating through traffic”, emphasizes Toto Wolff. “We have seen it with other greats in the past, Hamilton did it in some races. When the car and driver are one, nothing can stop them.”
The duel with George
Once behind Russell, Antonelli engaged in a long exchange of positions with his teammate, until the stop ordered by the pit wall and then the Virtual Safety Car. At that point, having started on the hard tire turned into an advantage for Antonelli, who still had a second set of fresh medium tires to mount. Mercedes considered the stop for him a mandatory decision, after observing damage on the competitors’ tires, in a weekend where some graining phenomena were recorded. Russell, on the other hand, could not do the same, having no more sets of new medium tires available, having used one in qualifying.
With fresh tires, Kimi began hammering lap after lap, confirming his sensitivity with the tires often praised by those who work closely with him. The Italian also had the advantage of having a car prepared exclusively with the race in mind, knowing he would start from the back, so much so that on Friday he completed a simulation of 19 laps. In the end, a historic victory arrived, important both for the championship and personally.
Just a few weeks ago, Antonelli said in an interview with FormulaPassion how the mistake made at Monza in the 2024 free practice had made him doubt himself: “The Monza accident marked me a lot. It was a moment I never managed to get over last year. The fact that I made a mistake and went off stayed in my head and slowed me down a lot.” The victory in Brianza thus becomes the closing of the circle for Kimi, who now can only aim for the most coveted trophy.
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Mercedes is still the benchmark
Antonelli’s comeback also tells of a Mercedes simply overwhelming on the Monza straights. The power of the Brixworth power unit is evident to all, whose many thermal part horses avoid having to overuse the electric motor in the early acceleration phases, thus still having enough battery energy at the end of the straight to unleash high top speeds. The speed superiority of the Silver Arrows, however, is also due to aerodynamics, particularly the low downforce package which, after being shelved in Belgium, was the protagonist in the Monza charge.
The Brianza track remains an atypical and standalone circuit, but Mercedes has still shown it can be competitive on other tracks as well. Around Malaysia, the long-awaited updates will arrive, followed by the ADUO engine, all elements that ensure the Brackley team has a hand on both titles.
On the podium behind the Mercedes, Max Verstappen with Red Bull is seen again, not without problems, especially in the rear mechanics, but still competitive when it comes to expressing speed on the straight. This is a quality that McLaren lacks, both for aerodynamic reasons and for the choice of too short gearbox ratios. The papaya team might suffer also in Baku, but before then the MCL40 will have all the elements to be a protagonist next week in Madrid.
Ferrari pays for its mistakes
Fans’ hope was high, but Monza Sunday exposed all Ferrari’s shortcomings, starting with the management of the drivers at the start. First Hamilton squeezed too aggressively into the First Variante inside Leclerc, who then equally aggressively accompanied his teammate into the gravel. Charles’ subsequent accident due to the mistake made in Parabolica prevented assessing the potential of his SF-26, while Hamilton’s over 20 seconds lost compared to Russell with the same number of stops is emblematic.
Ferrari lacks energy and speed on the straight, consequences of the lack of horsepower from the thermal engine. Vasseur notes that power unit development takes longer than aerodynamic development and that thinking of catching up with the two ADUO tokens of 2026 was unrealistic. The question then becomes what responsibilities lie behind the early season delay, whether it is due to wrong design choices or simply an inefficient engine. Madrid will be a less penalizing track than Monza from a motor point of view, but so were Zandvoort and Budapest, races that the Prancing Horse finished off the podium. Vasseur assured that Ferrari will continue to develop until the end of the season, a strategy that, looking at Mercedes’ technical and championship advantage, raises the question of whether it is the right one.
