Montoya Sparks Debate Over Kimi Antonelli’s Victory: “The Right Thing to Do Was Something Else”

Juan Pablo Montoya, as usual, had no qualms about commenting on Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The Mercedes driver from Bologna climbed from 19th to first place, sending the crowd at the Autodromo into a frenzy and cementing his status as the darling of Italian Formula 1 fans.

However, in analyzing the Mercedes team’s strategy, Montoya sent a message that went against the grain: “When Kimi caught up to Russell, the right thing to do was to tell Antonelli to stay in second place, but if you tell Kimi to stay in second place in Italy after what he’s done, you’ll never leave that paddock,” the former Colombian driver told BetBrothers.

“Antonelli is doing an extraordinary job and putting Mercedes in a difficult situation. How can you tell Kimi he’s not allowed to win the race when he’s fought his way back from the back of the pack? You can’t, and Toto Wolff knew that—and he knew full well that the entire circuit was rooting for Antonelli.”

Russell now trails the World Championship leader by 66 points in the overall standings. Montoya wonders why he wasn’t treated the same way as the Italian when the Virtual Safety Car period went into effect: Antonelli was called into the pits to put on new tires, while the English driver remained on the track and was eventually overtaken. “Why wasn’t George brought in? If they knew he’d be faster after a pit stop, why wasn’t George allowed another stop? I don’t know why the driver leading the race wasn’t given priority.”