Kimi Antonelli won a dramatic Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, extending his championship lead to a commanding 66 points after a race twice interrupted by crashes and a red flag.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The lights-to-flag victory on the iconic streets of Monte Carlo marks the 19-year-old Italian’s fifth consecutive win, continuing an extraordinary streak in his sophomore F1 season.Fellow Mercedes driver George Russell, his closest rival for the championship, finished out of the points after his team failed to properly execute a 5-second time penalty — a mistake that resulted in an even harsher sanction and dropped him to the back of the grid.Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari finished second, vaulting 2 points ahead of Russell to second place in the championship, with partner Kim Kardashian watching from the paddock as he lifted the trophy.Isack Hadjar completed the podium in third, claiming his first Formula 1 top-three finish for Red Bull.It is Antonelli’s fifth win in a row, and the second consecutive race he has won while Russell has failed to score.
Antonelli’s championship lead over Russell is now 68 points.“It’s been an incredible weekend.Incredible race,” Antonelli said in a post-race live interview.
“Job’s not finished.You know, it’s still a long season.
We got to keep pushing, keep raising the bar.The goal is to keep performing like this.”With 16 races remaining and 25 points on offer for a victory, Russell has ample opportunity to recover.
But if Antonelli’s form holds, the deficit will be a monumental task to overcome.Russell had qualified sixth on Saturday, four tenths off Antonelli’s pace, and his Sunday unraveled early when he became stuck behind the slower Hadjar.In a darkly symbolic moment, he was lapped by his own teammate around Lap 54.Russell was among roughly half a dozen drivers penalized for pit-lane speeding — an unusually high number.�...