Antonelli Wins Italian Grand Prix as Verstappen Finishes Third

Max Verstappen finished third at the Italian Grand Prix as Mercedes secured the top two positions.
Kimi Antonelli won the race ahead of his Mercedes teammate, George Russell.
Antonelli started from 19th place after receiving an engine penalty. He fought through the field to claim his seventh victory of the season.
The 20-year-old also became the first Italian driver to win at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti achieved the feat for Ferrari in 1966.
Verstappen started fifth for Red Bull. Pierre Gasly began the race from pole position, while Russell started second.
The opening stages produced major drama.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton collided at the first corner. The incident sent Hamilton down the order.
Verstappen gained a position before overtaking Leclerc.
Leclerc later went off the track while battling Oscar Piastri. He crashed heavily, forcing officials to stop the race with a red flag.
The race restarted more than 30 minutes later, with Russell leading the field.
Verstappen quickly passed Gasly and closed the gap to Russell. However, Antonelli had already moved through several cars and joined the battle at the front.
Russell and Antonelli traded the lead as they used their battery power boosts.
A virtual safety car allowed Antonelli and Verstappen to make another pit stop without losing as much time as they would under normal racing conditions.
Antonelli returned to second place and began chasing Russell.
He attempted to pass his teammate with four laps remaining but went off the track. He tried again and completed the winning move on lap 51.
Verstappen struggled to move past Hamilton and Piastri during the closing stages. He crossed the finish line about 10 seconds behind the two Mercedes cars.
Antonelli now leads the championship with 267 points. Russell has 201 points, while Verstappen sits sixth with 127 points.







