He can't stop. And if it's not a knockout blow, it's close. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has wings and wins again. First Monza, now Madrid.The Mercedes driver secured his eighth win of the season and puts another heavy stake in the Formula 1 World Championship. He is the first to add his name to the list of winners at the Madrid Ring, ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Behind him, the title rivals are losing ground. George Russell finishes fifth, while Lewis Hamilton stops after just seven laps due to a brake problem.
It's another bitter Sunday for Ferrari, with his championship hopes increasingly diminishing. Charles Leclerc tries to change the script with an endurance race, leading for 33 laps but having to settle for fourth place. The podium slips away, while Antonelli pulls away.
World Championships, lead over Russell rises to 81 points
The standings are now starting to look like a dream. Antonelli climbs to 292 points and extends his lead over Russell to 81 points, still at 211. Still the toll is heavier for Hamilton, which remains at 191 points and sees the gap from the top exceed one hundred points.
The Bolognese driver, however, prefers to keep the calculations out of the cockpit. "I have to keep pushing, race after race, trying to do my best. Then we'll see what the result will be at the end of the year without thinking about the standings," he commented after his victory. This approach allows him to approach each race without changing his focus, even as his advantage over his rivals grows. Despite his young age, Kimi already speaks like a champion. Behind the result is a complicated race, in which tire management and the virtual safety car played a decisive role. Norris, in particular, paid the price, disadvantaged by the safety car early on while holding the lead and eventually finishing third, behind Verstappen.
Antonelli openly acknowledges this.It was a very difficult race, not linear. I tried to manage the tires, it's always nice to win but oLando deserved the victory today“, admitted the Mercedes driver. Kimi was able to seize the opportunity and maintain his pace until the end. “With the hard tyre, we kept pushing at the end. It was an incredible weekend, we can't wait to get back.”
Ferrari, Leclerc's gamble isn't enough
To try to reach the podium, Leclerc chooses the path of a very long management of the hard tyres. The Monegasque extends the stint waiting for a favorable circumstance, but the bet does not produce the desired resultIn the final stages he at least managed to contain Russell, preventing Mercedes from placing both cars ahead of the Ferrari.
On the other side of the garage, brake failure leaves Hamilton without points and with a new opponent close behind. Norris climbs to 186 points, just five points behind the Briton, also putting pressure on his third place in the championship. Leclerc follows with 167 points, while Verstappen reaches 145 thanks to his second place in Spain.
Antonelli sets a new record, next appointment in Baku
The eighth career victory allows Antonelli to join Denny Hulme, Jacky Ickx and Daniel Ricciardo in fortieth place in the ranking of the most successful Formula 1 drivers.
A 20 years and 19 days He also set the record for the youngest winner on his first visit to a circuit, bettering the previous record set by Sebastian Vettel, who won on his first appearance at Suzuka at 22 years and 93 days. He is also the first Italian to win the Spanish GP. The last Italian podium at this race belonged to Giancarlo Fisichella, who finished third in 2006, just 103 days before Kimi was born. The Madrid podium was his fifteenth career podium, his twelfth of the season, and his fifth consecutive.
The next stop will be the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, in Baku from 24 to 26 September, where Russell and the other pursuers will try to stop his escape. Meanwhile, Kimi dreams of an ever-closer World Championship.
