Six key races that made Kimi Antonelli a world champion

When the season started few gave thought to the possibility that Kimi Antonelli, in just his second season behind the wheel of the Mercedes in Formula One, would emerge as the youngest world champion in the 76-year history of the sport.

AFP Sport picks out six races that defined the 20-year-old’s rise to the top step of the podium.

March 15: China

After following teammate George Russell over the finish line in the season-opener in Australia, Antonelli turned some heads in the next race in Shanghai.

Not only did he become the youngest driver ever to take pole position but Antonelli, still only 19, went on to win his first grand prix, becoming the second youngest F1 winner behind Max Verstappen.

Russell won the sprint and came second in the main race but can have had no inkling that this was to be the pattern for most of the season.

May 24: Canada

Antonelli continued his form and went to Montreal on the back of three successive wins while Russell, who was plagued with poor luck all season, had failed to make the podium since China.

The Englishman, however, appeared to rediscover his mojo on the street circuit, winning the sprint and taking pole position.

The race, however, again belonged to Antonelli who made it four wins on the bounce as Russell was forced to retire on lap 30 due to a battery/power unit failure, costing him a potential 18 points and widening the gap.

June 7: Monaco

Two weeks later, the Italian again started from pole to make it five wins from five with a first victory on the tight, legendary Monaco street circuit. Again, however, he benefited from his teammate’s misfortune late in the race.

After being penalised for speeding in the pit lane, Russell suffered further when the Mercedes mechanics started working on his car before the penalty time elapsed.

Russell dropped from third to finish out of the points in 12th. After six races, Antonelli led Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Russell by 66 and 68 points respectively.

September 6: Italy

After winning five of the first six races, Antonelli suffered a mini-slump, winning just one (Belgium) of the next six.

Russell was trying to fight back but Antonelli’s performance in front of his home crowd in Monza all but sealed the title as he produced one of the all-time great performances on a race track.

While Russell started on pole, Antonelli, in his first race as a 20-year-old, was forced to start from 19th on the grid due to an engine penalty. He then proceeded to pick his way through the field, past Russell, to become the first Italian to win the race since Ludovico Scarfiotti 60 years earlier.

Russell, eight years his senior, finished second but Antonelli’s masterly performance left no one in doubt as to who was now the senior partner.

September 26: Azerbaijan

Another street circuit in Baku and this time Antonelli made a rare error when he pranged his car into a wall during qualifying.

It meant starting down in 16th while Russell, with almost the last throw of his dice, drove superbly to take pole.

The Englishman this time made no mistakes and took a commanding chequered flag but his hopes of biting into Antonelli’s sizeable lead were lessened by another mature drive from the Italian.

He didn’t make it on to the podium this time but worked his way up to fifth to puncture Russell’s optimism and close in on the title.

October 4: Malaysia

The final nail came at the Bahrain GP which had been relocated to Malaysia because of the conflict in the Middle East.

Antonelli finished second behind a resurgent Verstappen this time but stretched his lead after Russell, who was running third at the time, was forced to retire just a few laps from the finish.

That took his lead in the championship to 84 points, effectively ending Russell’s bid to challenge him and signalling a new era in Formula One.

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