Antonelli faces Monza fight from the back after engine penalty: “Stay out of trouble and keep hammering” – Andrea Kimi Antonelli will start the Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after Mercedes changed his power unit, leaving the championship leader facing a major recovery drive at Monza.
The Italian knows he must balance aggression with caution as he looks to protect his 59-point advantage over George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli ready for a difficult Monza recovery
Antonelli’s home Grand Prix became significantly more complicated before the race even began, with the Mercedes driver starting 20th after taking a grid penalty for a power-unit replacement.
With less than half of the season remaining, the Italian cannot afford to leave Monza without points. His 59-point advantage over Mercedes teammate Russell and Ferrari driver Hamilton gives him some breathing room, but a costly zero could quickly reduce that margin.
The challenge is therefore clear: Antonelli needs to attack, but he cannot allow the pressure of starting from the rear to turn into unnecessary risks.
Mercedes saw potential during qualifying
Despite his eventual starting position, Antonelli remained involved in the fight through Q3 and attempted to help Russell with a tow during qualifying.
The strategy was only partially successful, with Russell securing second place behind surprise pole-sitter Pierre Gasly. Antonelli, meanwhile, had already planned to complete just one flying lap in Q3.
“It was already planned that I would only do one lap in Q3,” Antonelli explained. “We filled up on fuel for the whole session, so I even had more fuel in the car than I should have because I had to give George a tow anyway.”
Antonelli believes the Mercedes had more potential than the final qualifying picture suggested, particularly after looking at his performance on used tyres in Q2.
“It’s a shame because, looking at the times I did in Q2 on used tyres, we could have had a chance today,” he added.
Antonelli calls for aggression without unnecessary risks
Starting from 20th at Monza leaves Antonelli with plenty of work to do, but the Mercedes driver remains confident that the car has enough race pace to make progress.
“Obviously there’ll be a lot of catching up to do tomorrow, but I think the pace we showed in free practice is very good,” Antonelli said.
The key will be surviving the opening laps, particularly through Monza’s first two chicanes, before beginning the long recovery towards the points.
“We’ll try to get a good start and stay out of trouble in the first two chicanes, and then we’ll try to push as hard as possible and work our way up.”
For Antonelli, that approach could prove crucial. A strong recovery would allow him to limit the damage from the engine penalty and maintain his championship advantage, while an incident could turn a difficult weekend into a major setback.
Monza starting grid
- Pierre Gasly — Alpine
- George Russell — Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc — Ferrari
- Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari
- Max Verstappen — Red Bull
- Oscar Piastri — McLaren (+3 places for impeding Lawson)
- Franco Colapinto — Alpine
- Lando Norris — McLaren
- Arvid Lindblad — Racing Bulls
- Gabriel Bortoleto — Audi
- Ollie Bearman — Haas
- Nico Hulkenberg — Audi
- Carlos Sainz Jr. — Williams
- Esteban Ocon — Haas
- Yuki Tsunoda — Racing Bulls
- Valtteri Bottas — Cadillac
- Sergio Perez — Cadillac
- Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin
- Lance Stroll — Aston Martin
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes (penalised for PU replacement)
- Alex Albon — Williams (penalised for PU replacement)
- Liam Lawson — Red Bull (penalised for PU replacement)
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