- Published
Kimi Antonelli's stunning victory in the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid will go down in Formula 1 folklore - and, remarkably, his team boss Toto Wolff said that he had seen it coming on Saturday.
asserted
it → publish → Saturday
After Sunday's race, Wolff said that beforehand he thought that one of his two drivers was going to be standing on the top of the podium.
asserted
one → say → podium
It was an eye-opening statement given they started the race 17 places apart on the grid, George Russell on the front row alongside shock pole winner Pierre Gasly's Alpine; Antonelli on the penultimate row.
asserted
they → open → row
"I thought one of the two is going to win," Wolff said.
asserted
Wolff → think → two
"Either George, because he was on the front row, or Kimi because he's going to walk over water, here at Monza.
asserted
he → go → Monza
And I felt that yesterday also."
asserted
I → feel → that
Wolff was asked to explain why he felt a performance he was comparing to a miracle was on the cards.
asserted
he → ask → cards
"It's been a while that I've seen drivers," he said.
asserted
he → see → drivers
I knew that was his mission today, to win the race.
asserted
that → know → race
I chatted with his father yesterday.
asserted
I → chat → father
The father also saw that coming.
asserted
that → see → ?
"These are the moments where you can see how a weekend is panning out through the sessions that a special moment can come."
asserted
moment → see → that
Antonelli knew coming in that he would be starting at the back because of a grid penalty for using too many engines this year.
asserted
he → know → engines
Russell knew that he had to make the most of this opportunity and cut as much as he could out of his team-mate's 59-point championship lead.
uncertain
he → know → lead
Fifth or sixth was the general consensus for what might be realistically possible for Antonelli, who himself said after the race that he had "thought a podium was possible".
uncertain
podium → say → race
What changed everything was his remarkable progress in the early laps of the race, which brought to mind another Biblical miracle, the parting of the Red Sea.
asserted
which → change → Sea
Antonelli was 14th after a relatively conservative first lap, then 12th at the end of lap two, when Charles Leclerc crashed his Ferrari to bring the race to a temporary halt.
asserted
Leclerc → crash → halt
"With the red flag, I was already P12," Antonelli said.
asserted
Antonelli → say → flag
"And then I knew that I could have a shot at it."
uncertain
I → know → it
A lap after the restart, he was up to eighth, and on the back of the leading group of cars running nose to tail.
asserted
he → lead → tail
By now, Russell was in the lead, having wasted little time dispensing with Gasly.
asserted
Russell → waste → Gasly
But the Briton sensed trouble.
asserted
Briton → sense → trouble
"A great race from the neutral perspective," Russell said.
asserted
Russell → say → perspective
"As soon as I saw Kimi up to P5 after a handful of laps, I knew he was going to be in the fight with us.
asserted
he → see → us
Wolff said: "The differentiator today was the ability to go through the traffic.
asserted
differentiator → say → traffic
We've seen it with other great ones in the past.
asserted
We → see → past
Lewis (Hamilton), who did it in some of the races.
asserted
who → do → races
That's what he's shown today.
asserted
he → show → what
When a driver and a car are one, then there's nothing that can stop them."
asserted
that → be → them
Antonelli in no mood to obey a computer algorithm
Briefly, for a few laps, Russell and Max Verstappen threatened to break away in the lead while Antonelli was finding a way past Gasly, the two McLarens and Hamilton's Ferrari.
asserted
Antonelli → obey → Gasly
But Russell and Verstappen were fighting at the front, costing each other time, and Antonelli was up to third by lap 13, just 1.8secs off Verstappen in the lead, with Russell between them.
asserted
Russell → fight → them
Three laps later, the Mercedes drivers were running one-two, and starting to swap places themselves, until, with Russell leading, it was suggested by that team that they give it a rest and try to break away from Verstappen.
uncertain
they → run → Verstappen
If Russell could not do so, they said, they would "invert the cars" - put Antonelli into the lead to try himself.
uncertain
they → do → himself
But slowly they began to inch clear.
asserted
they → begin → ?
At this point, coming up to half-distance, the race victory was still up in the air.
asserted
victory → come → air
There was a virtual safety car (VSC), called when Lance Stroll's Aston Martin broke down at the first corner.
asserted
Martin → be → corner
Mercedes called Antonelli for new tyres - a decision they had to make as he had switched to the medium compound at the red flag and that would not make it to the end.
asserted
that → call → end
Russell continued on his hard tyres.
asserted
Russell → continue → tyres
"It was the right thing to split the strategies," Wolff said, "because we didn't know what the better one would be.
asserted
one → split → strategies
In the morning meeting, we said the hard tyre is going to go forever.
asserted
tyre → say → meeting
…and 41 more, not listed.
The Aporia
