Winners and losers from Monaco GP as Antonelli shines and Leclerc suffers heartbreak

While Antonelli, alongside Lewis Hamilton and Isack Hadjar, left Monaco with the brightest of smiles, several drivers, including George Russell and home crowd favourite Charles Leclerc, were left scratching their heads. The McLaren team’s woes also showed no sign of abating, with another DNF for reigning world champion Lando Norris largely summing up another deflated outing for the papaya-coloured outfit.

It does not get much better than scoring a grand chelem at the iconic Monaco Grand Prix at just 19 years old, while further extending your lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Antonelli enjoyed a dream weekend in the Principality. The Italian not only secured pole position in remarkable fashion but also led every lap of the race, despite several restarts and incidents that disrupted proceedings. He left Monaco with a 66-point lead ahead of Hamilton in the standings.

Another podium for the Scuderia Ferrari driver, who got the better of his teammate Leclerc, with even Kim Kardashian cheering him on from the podium celebrations. It does not get much better than that for Hamilton at present. The seven-time world champion secured his third podium and second consecutive top-three finish in what has been a challenging debut campaign with Ferrari.

Hamilton also moved ahead of Russell in the Drivers’ Championship and currently sits in second place. His confidence appears to be sky-high, with the 41-year-old noting after the race that he feels younger and believes he needs to remind people of exactly who he is.

After a difficult start in that notoriously challenging second Red Bull seat, questions had begun to emerge over whether he could meet expectations alongside Max Verstappen. However, in Monaco, Hadjar, despite being plagued by issues at various stages of the race, held firm under pressure from George Russell to secure a podium finish.

It could hardly have gone worse for Leclerc in front of his home crowd. A weekend marred by two crashes and a race-ending brake issue left the Monegasque devastated. Once again outperformed by Hamilton for the second consecutive weekend, it was no surprise to see him visibly frustrated with his team after retiring from the race.

Another race, another weekend overshadowed by Antonelli. Things appear to be spiralling negatively for the British driver. After a disappointing qualifying session, Russell’s hopes of salvaging his Sunday were undone by a series of penalties, including a drive-through that dropped him outside the points. As well as losing ground to Antonelli, Russell now also trails Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship.

A case of what might have been for the Red Bull driver, who showed strong pace throughout the weekend. However, the four-time world champion saw his race end on the opening lap after suffering what appeared to be an engine issue, leaving him stranded at the start.

The reigning world champion appears unable to catch a break. His Monaco outing, where he won last season, ended in another DNF after a power unit issue. This marked the third race of the season in which Norris has either failed to start or finish, highlighting a frustrating campaign so far for the McLaren driver.