Lewis Hamilton has warned Kimi Antonelli that he is ready to “chase him down for the rest of the year” after becoming the Italian teenager’s closest rival for the world championship.
Antonelli, 19 years and nine months, delivered a statement performance to usurp Hamilton as the youngest winner of a Monaco Grand Prix, which ended in dramatic fashion following two safety cars, one red flag for track repairs and six pit-lane speeding penalties.
Hamilton finished runner-up to Antonelli for the second successive race, as George Russell failed to score – also for the second time in as many rounds.
Russell was hit with a late drive-through penalty, after Mercedes bungled his five-second sanction for going too quick in the pits, dropping him from third to 13th.
Antonelli’s lead over Russell has increased from 43 points to 68 with Hamilton two points better off than his former Mercedes team-mate.
And Hamilton said: “I can’t believe I am second in the championship. It is still very early days in the season and we have to keep chasing.
“It is actually easier to chase than it is to defend in life and, while these guys are very quick, we are going to keep pushing, keep chasing and I have no doubt that at some stage we will get that (first win for Ferrari).
“Kimi is doing a phenomenal job. But it just encourages me to level-up and it encourages everyone else to level-up, too. And I am going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year.”
Kim Kardashian made her paddock debut as Hamilton’s girlfriend.
Her arrival 50 minutes before the start sent the paddock into a frenzy. She posed for pictures outside of Hamilton’s Ferrari garage before heading to the starting grid.
Hamilton then blew a kiss to her as she watched him collect his runners-up trophy.
“It is amazing to have her come this weekend and to have that support,” said Hamilton as he broke his silence on his relationship with the American reality star for the first time.
“It is amazing to have good people around you, good people supporting you, and she does that for me every day.”
For Antonelli, his points tally of 156 is remarkably six more than he managed across 24 rounds of a maiden season littered with a number of erratic displays. Mercedes stuck with their protege, and he is more than vindicating their decision. He has dropped just seven points all year.
By lap 60 of 78, Antonelli had been more than half-a-minute clear of Hamilton, having lapped the entire field up to the third.
His lead was eradicated when Lance Stroll crashed and the safety car was deployed. Then Charles Leclerc also thudded into the wall at Rascasse and a second safety car was required.
The race was swiftly red-flagged amid concerns the temporary street surface was cutting up at the final corner where Stroll and Leclerc had both met their end.
But following temporary repairs and a 37-minute stoppage, Antonelli dealt with the second standing start of the day – two hours and 15 minutes after his first – to claim a fifth straight win.
Hamilton was 23 when he took his first of three triumphs in the principality in 2008. He would go on to land his maiden crown later that year. And Antonelli is now the firm favourite to emulate the man he replaced at Mercedes.
“It has been an incredible weekend and one of those days where we just had amazing pace,” said Antonelli. “But the job is not finished. It is a long season and we have to keep raising the bar.”
