F1 Drivers' Championship After Monaco GP: Antonelli Leads with 156 Points

The Monaco race led to important changes in the championship table. Antonelli, who sits in the leadership seat, stood out as the most consistent driver of the season despite being only 19 years old; the first place seat that he did not let go of even once in Monaco where he came from pole position meant victory in China, Japan, Imola, Canada and finally Monaco races. In the season where Antonelli won five of six races, Mercedes also became the only team to win all six races — the other victory belongs to teammate George Russell. Antonelli's gap to Hamilton is 66 points, and his gap to Russell is 68 points. Considering the remaining 16 races of the season, although the championship race continues mathematically, the consecutive victories Antonelli achieved in the last three races placed the 19-year-old driver in the clear favourite position.

Second-placed Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, left behind an important milestone in his Ferrari adventure. The British driver, who experienced his second consecutive podium under the Ferrari jersey in Monaco, moved up to second place in the championship by leaving teammate Charles Leclerc, who was DNF in the home race, behind. Hamilton, who has been world champion seven times, created a morale-boosting table on the Maranello side of the team with this rapid rise at Ferrari. Third-placed George Russell, on the other hand, is having difficulty absorbing the dramatic picture he experienced in Monaco; the British driver faced a second penalty because he could not serve the pit lane penalty properly and finished the race in 13th place. Russell, who left pointless in two consecutive races, could not prevent the widening of the gap between him and teammate Antonelli.

In the middle section of the standings, Oscar Piastri is in fifth place with 60 points, Lando Norris in sixth place with 58 points; McLaren's two drivers lost ground especially with Norris's failure to finish the race after the difficult race they experienced in Monaco. Seventh-placed Max Verstappen stayed at 43 points; the Dutch champion's inability to finish the Monaco race in the first lap due to an engine problem continued his bad start to the season. Eighth-placed Isack Hadjar reached 29 points with his second consecutive podium; the 21-year-old French-Algerian driver is living the brilliant days of his career by displaying an impressive performance on behalf of Red Bull. In ninth place with 26 points is New Zealander Liam Lawson and in tenth place again with 26 points is Pierre Gasly.

Below the tenth place, Oliver Bearman is in 11th with 18 points, Franco Colapinto in 12th with 15 points, Arvid Lindblad in 13th with 13 points. From Williams, Carlos Sainz is in 14th with 6 points and Alex Albon in 15th with 5 points. Esteban Ocon is in 16th with 3 points, and Gabriel Bortoleto is in 17th with 2 points. One of the most striking results of the season was experienced in Monaco: Cadillac F1 Team's Mexican driver Sergio Perez brought the team its first point in Formula 1 history with 1 point. Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll are at the end of the list as drivers who have not yet opened their points account.

In the constructors' championship, Mercedes is in the clear lead with 244 points. Ferrari is in second place with 165 points, and McLaren is in third place. Mercedes's gap to its closest rival after six races is 79 points; the team's strong two-front table with Antonelli and Russell also strengthened the scenario that the constructors' championship will go to the Brackley-based team. The seventh race of the season will be the Hungarian Grand Prix to be held at the Hungaroring on July 24-26.

Image: trf1.net