Kimi Antonelli showed one ‘ruthless’ ability that George Russell lacked in the Las Vegas Grand Prix

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Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured a double podium finish in the 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix thanks to McLaren’s double disqualification.

The Silver Arrows stars took the chequered flag in third and fifth place on Sunday, as Russell scored his ninth podium of the 2025 F1 season so far. But Antonelli would join his teammate in the top three after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren lost their P2 and P4 finishes.

Piastri had jumped ahead of Antonelli in the provisional race classifications, as the latter had a five-second time penalty for jumping the start. The penalty was added to his race time, as the 19-year-old completed his only pit stop on Lap 2 of 50 and nursed his tyres to the end.

But the FIA stewards found both of McLaren’s cars had suffered excessive wear to their floor skid blocks. Norris and Piastri’s disqualifications from the Las Vegas GP also meant Antonelli is the third rookie to take a podium from P17 or worse on the grid, after he started from P17.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s ‘ruthless’ consistency in the Las Vegas GP stunned Gian Carlo Minardi

Antonelli bowed out of qualifying for the Las Vegas GP in Q1, marking the third time that he has failed to advance beyond the opening leg of a qualifying session this season. The Italian paid the price for sliding off at Turn 14, as he did not set a time in the best of the conditions.

READ MORE: Know all about 2025 Mercedes F1 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli including stats

But Antonelli impressed with his recovery drive to inherit P3 in the Las Vegas GP. He came in from P13 under the virtual safety car on Lap 2 for his only pit stop and he held off Piastri for the second half of Sunday’s race with a level of consistency that stunned Gian Carlo Minardi.

“It was another excellent performance by Andrea Kimi Antonelli,” Minardi told his website. “A slight mistake during the final lap of qualifying in the wet conditions cost him a place in Q2, followed by a five second penalty for jumping the start.

“Despite this, the young Italian climbed back from 17th place up to fifth (then third after the disqualifications), impressing with his consistent pace during the 47 laps on hard tyres.

“In direct comparison with Russell, he was ruthless in his consistency. And in his duels with Piastri and Leclerc, he showed great maturity.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli had the fifth-best race pace in the 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP

Antonelli spent 48 laps on a set of the hard C3 Pirelli tyres in the Las Vegas GP, yet his race pace was the fifth-best. His race pace was worse than Max Verstappen’s by 0.49 seconds per lap, and worse than Norris’ by 0.11s, Piastri’s by 0.03s and Charles Leclerc’s by 0.02s.

Mercedes teammate Russell pitted on Lap 17/50 to switch from the medium C4 tyres to the C3 hards, whereas Antonelli started on the soft C5 tyres. The Briton’s average race pace was 0.50s worse than Verstappen’s, having overcooked his tyres by attacking right after his stop.

Russell tried to put Verstappen under pressure by undercutting the Red Bull racer, who took to the pit lane on Lap 25. But the 27-year-old punished his rubber as a result, which initially let Norris claim second place before the McLaren driver’s disqualification following the race.