Antonelli claims epic win at Italian home GP after starting 19th

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli had a sensational race as he charged from the back of the grid to claim an epic win at the Formula One Italian Grand Prix on Sunday in front of his home crowd.

He's the first Italian to win at the Temple of Speed since 1966.

Antonelli started in 19th after he received a 30-place grid penalty due to a planned engine change. But following the restart after a long red flag period following a crash by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, the Italian was already sixth by lap seven.

His recovery culminated with a mid-race battle with team-mate George Russell. The two exchanged overtakes and Russell eventually came out on top.

The British driver got some breathing space after Antonelli pitted for new tyres on lap 29, while he stayed out after fitting a set of hard tyres during the red flag period.

In the closing stages of the race, Antonelli closed the gap and started his attack against Russell.

In a first attempt, he drifted onto the marbles at Turn 2 and then into the gravel. But with three laps remaining, he returned to the track, beat his team-mate and completed an epic win.

Russell had to settle for second, while Max Verstappen of Red Bull was third.

The race was interrupted for some 45 minutes after Leclerc of Ferrari crashed into the barriers at the end of lap two.

Leclerc started third with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in fourth as the Scuderia were bidding for a podium.

But they had a bad start as the two cars made contact once the lights went out and Hamilton was pushed off the track, dropping many places.