Antonelli’s F1 lead survives Monza, but title race remains open

Kimi Antonelli’s victory at Monza strengthened his position at the top of the Formula One championship, but Sky Sports reports that the title race remains unsettled with 10 scheduled rounds still to run.

The Mercedes driver leads team-mate George Russell by 66 points, Lewis Hamilton by 76 and McLaren’s Lando Norris by 96. Antonelli’s win was significant because he recovered from 19th on the grid to take victory, but Monza’s characteristics also favoured Mercedes’ power-unit deployment on its long straights.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described Monza as an outlier and said the team’s performance there should not be treated as a guide to the rest of the calendar. Mercedes does not plan to bring upgrades until Malaysia, raising the prospect of a more difficult weekend at the new Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.

Wolff said Mercedes may need to focus on scoring points rather than winning in Madrid. The circuit is expected to place greater emphasis on cornering, an area that could favour McLaren and Ferrari, while the remaining races will also be shaped by upgrades, reliability and changing track demands.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said his team’s realistic aim was to remain consistently in contention for victories. McLaren expects new upgrades for Baku, although Stella said Madrid and Baku may not fully suit the car’s strengths.

Antonelli, 20 and in his second season, remains the championship favourite and would become the youngest world champion if he wins the title. His own assessment was more cautious: with 10 races remaining, he said the standings could change quickly and that his focus was on taking the season one race at a time.