Antonelli converts maiden Monaco pole to maiden Monaco Grand Prix win

Written by Teagan Crump

Kimi Antonelli claimed his maiden victory in Monaco in a disrupted and retirement-heavy Grand Prix. Seven drivers suffered non-finishes, including two world champions.

📸: BBC

Kimi Antonelli claimed his maiden Monaco Grand Prox pole position and had the perfect race start. He maintained his lead but it was disaster for Max Verstappen who had a power unit failure and was forced to retire on Lap 2.

The start was also less than ideal for Ollie Bearman who had contact and was forced to pit for a new front wing. Lap 8 saw issues for Valterri Bottas who was reporting to his Cadillac team that he had brake issues.

One lap later, Sergio Pérez was given a drive-thtough penalty for a false start. Lap 18 saw more disaster for the Cadillac team with Bottas having to retire.

Isack Hadjar reported his struggles with power on Lap 20 but continued to battle with George Russell. Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly also battled for several laps. Lap 30 saw Bearman retire.

Lewis Hamilton, Russell, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri were all handed five second time penalties for speeding in the pit lane.

Lando Norris had to retire on Lap 45 due to a power unit issue and Lance Stroll was handed a five second penalty for track limits.

Stroll's bad luck continued as he crashed into the barriers on Lap 60 and a Safety Car was called. Many drivers were able to pit, however George Russell did not serve his five second penalty correctly and so was forced keep the disadvantage, with him being noted by the stewards.

The Safety Car ended on Lap 66 but a yellow flag was immediately shown again for home-hero Charles Leclerc who crashed into Rascasse, similarly to Stroll. On the same lap, Pierre Gasly was investigated for speeding in the pit lane and was later given a second five second time penalty.

The tarmac where both Leclerc and Stroll crashed looked to be in bad condition and the race was red flagged on Lap 68, allowing the FIA to investigate it.

During the red flag, Hadjar and Hamilton were investigated for Safety Car infringements but neither had any further consequences. Russell was handed a drive-through penalty as he had failed to serve his initial penalty correctly.

The race resumed at 17:12 local time (16:12 BST) and Lap 69 was under Safty Car before a standing start was held on Lap 70.

Immediately on the restart, Antonelli was on the charge and Hamilton went with him. Both drivers were able to pull away from George Russell and build a gap.

Lap 71 saw Carlos Sainz have to retire from the race as he was tagged by Nico Hülkenberg and then tapped by Franco Colapinto.

Alex Albon and Hülkenberg were battling on Lap 72 into the swimming pool. On Lap 73, Hadjar was noted for a red flag infringement which will be investiagted after the race.

Kimi Antonelli crossed the line to win his maiden Monaco Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton in second and Pierre Gasly in third position on the road. However, due to his 10 seconds of penalties, Gasly was demoted and Isack Hadjar inherited the podium.