Mercedes
Antonelli was one of very few drivers to have a relatively trouble-free Grand Prix in Monaco as he galloped to a fifth straight win in emphatic style. He led from the start and built a commanding advantage over Hamilton behind. Despite that lead disappearing under the Safety Car, he managed both that restart and the red flag restart perfectly to lead from start to finish, extending his lead in the standings to a mighty 66 points.
Russell’s afternoon was significantly more difficult. He was stuck behind Hadjar in the early stages, and was then pinged for speeding in the pit lane, earning himself a five-second penalty. After being bottled up behind Norris, he then pitted under the Safety Car and did not serve his penalty. That earned him a drive-through, which he did not receive until the red flag period – and thus had to serve it after the restart when the field was closely packed.
That cost him any chance of points as his championship challenge took another hit.
Kimi Antonelli, 1st
“It’s an incredible feeling to win in Monaco. It’s such a special weekend and one I’ll remember for a long time. Today was one of those days where everything just clicked; I had a lot of confidence in the car, felt strong throughout, and to bring the win home in a place like this makes it even more meaningful.
“From a race perspective, there were definitely some key moments to manage. The starts are still an area we’re working on, but I’ve made good progress. My first one was solid, and although the second was a bit more challenging with the tyres, it’s positive to see improvement.
“The red flag added a bit of stress, especially knowing the restart could change everything, but we handled it well. In the final laps, I really enjoyed myself out there, even though I still had to carefully manage the tyres. This track demands a lot of focus, you have to find the right balance between pushing and not making mistakes, and once you settle into that rhythm, everything starts to come together.
“At the same time, I know there’s still a lot to learn and improve. I just want to keep pushing, keep building on this momentum, and most importantly, keep enjoying the journey. That’s what makes moments like this so rewarding.”
George Russell, 12th
“Firstly, congratulations to Kimi. He did an amazing job today and over the weekend and is a well-deserving winner. On my side, the race was very difficult. I had managed to get to P4 but the penalty for speeding in the pitlane is difficult to understand. I was under the limit but then that was compounded by us not serving the penalty at my second stop; that ultimately cost me a lot and left me with zero points again.
“It’s tough to take but I’m not going to give up. Across the last two races, I’ve effectively lost around 40 points. It’s incredibly frustrating but the rest of the season can still look very different. We saw that last year and, in many seasons previous. It’s unfortunate how things have played out so far but I’m aiming to bounce back in Barcelona. I believe in myself and I know what I’m capable of.”
Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“Kimi delivered a very controlled race from start to finish today. It was a clean start, strong pace, and above all, very mature driving. It’s exactly what you want to see, and he was a well-deserving winner. Congratulations to him and the team.
“On George’s side, he had done a good job to get back into the battle for the podium but was unfortunate to receive a pitlane speeding penalty. That undid his race unfortunately and the subsequent drive-through penalty for not serving the penalty correctly ended with him out of the points. He has not felt fully confident in the car this weekend and that is on us as a team. We win and lose together, and this is something we will learn from and help him recover from.
“In terms of the bigger picture, we’re not talking about the championship at this stage. There are still many races to go, and while it’s been a positive start overall, we’ll take it step-by- step and see where we stand as the season develops.”
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director
“Congratulations to Kimi and the team. Winning in Monaco is always a special feeling and one that never comes easy. He had strong pace throughout and allowed us to control an unpredictable and difficult race.
“George had an unfortunate weekend where few things went his way. He had done a good job to get into a position where he would have been fighting for a podium, however his race unravelled after receiving a penalty for speeding in the pitlane. The timing of the Safety Car posed a challenge to the team to co-ordinate the double stack with little time to react. Having failed to correctly serve the penalty at his second stop, George was handed a drive-through penalty. After the red flag had brought the field together, it turned what would have been a couple of positions dropped into finishing outside of the points. We will analyse our communication and processes to become more resilient to similar situations in future.
“Whilst we leave here with mixed feelings, we can be content with the work done to produce a car that is capable of winning at a unique circuit like this where we have struggled in recent years. We now move on to Barcelona and a very different track; we will be doing everything we can to carry on this run of form.”