Italian Grand Prix: Harry Benjamin’s driver ratings as Kimi Antonelli wins for Mercedes at Monza

Kimi Antonelli pulled off one of the fightbacks of the ages as he fought from 19th on the grid to win the Italian Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old’s stunning victory came after he caught and passed his team-mate George Russell with three laps to go.

Russell, who had started second and battled for the lead with Antonelli earlier in the race before holding on to first until the closing stages, is now 66 points behind in the drivers’ championship.

Meanwhile, it was a difficult day for Ferrari in front of the tifosi, with Charles Leclerc enduring a high-speed crash at the Parabolica early on while Lewis Hamilton was forced to settle for sixth.

Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Monza.

Kimi Antonelli – 10/10

What more could you ask for? Started 19th because of an engine penalty and sliced his way through the field to win his home Grand Prix. A trip through the gravel while hunting Russell was the only scare in an otherwise extraordinary drive.

George Russell – 9/10

Fastest in both FP2 and FP3, missed pole by just 0.060 seconds and led a huge chunk of the race. The strategy ultimately swung things Antonelli’s way but Russell hardly put a foot wrong himself.

Max Verstappen – 8.5/10

Another very strong Sunday after Red Bull struggled more over one lap. Briefly led the race and fought hard with both Mercedes drivers before bringing home a podium despite reporting problems with the rear of the car.

Lando Norris – 7.5/10

Qualifying ninth wasn’t where Norris wanted to be as McLaren struggled with its brakes, but he recovered well on Sunday. Beat Piastri in their late fight to take fourth and continued his strong run of form.

Oscar Piastri – 6.5/10

The speed was clearly there with third in qualifying, but the penalty for impeding Lawson dropped him back on the grid. He fought forwards throughout the race but ultimately lost out to Norris late on.

Lewis Hamilton – 7.5/10

A much better weekend than sixth place suggests. Quick throughout practice and almost identical to Leclerc in qualifying, before being forced into the gravel during their first lap fight and having to recover from outside the points.