Ferrari mocked by Mercedes after brutal F1 thrashing from Kimi Antonelli

Sunday was about as brutal as it could get for Ferrari as they endured Italian Grand Prix disaster, but Monday was not much better for the suffering Scuderia.

An enormous home crowd turned up for worship at the 'Temple of Speed' last weekend, most of them hoping to see the iconic Italian team claim a much-needed race win.

But instead, it was a Sunday afternoon of abject misery for the Maranello outfit, as Charles Leclerc crashed out early and Lewis Hamilton finished a distant sixth.

To make matters worse, we had an Italian winner as brilliant 20-year-old championship leader Kimi Antonelli piloted his Mercedes from P19 on the grid to victory. He was the first Italian driver to win the race since Ludovico Scarfiotti way back in 1966.

READ MORE: Ferrari boss hits back at Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc

Mercedes take aim at wounded Ferrari

It was a spectacular day for Antonelli and the Silver Arrows, in stark contrast to what was going on over at Ferrari. Some 24 hours later, Mercedes really rubbed it in for their bitter rivals.

The German automotive giant released an ad on its social media channels, featuring the brilliant Antonelli standing in front of a Mercedes C400, and boy was it beautifully executed.

The headline read 'FIRST ITALIAN TO WIN AT MONZA IN 60 YEARS' with a tagline which read 'It only took an incredible racer - and a German car'.

If that wasn't enough to have John Elkann and co crying into their morning capuccino, one other devastatingly brilliant touch surely did. The Mercedes car Antonelli was standing in front of, was of course...red.

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'Funny with the right amount of spice'

Hallowed Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport referenced the Mercedes jab this week, and spoke to an expert in the advertising field. Unsurprisingly, he approved.

"The ironic posts and social media jabs between Mercedes and Ferrari are now a staple of Formula 1 and the automotive industry in general," said Davide Ciliberti, leader of communications firm Purple & Noise PR.

"Funny with just the right amount of spice, but always respectful of the opponent.

"They're eagerly awaited by all fans, and now we're waiting for the response from the Prancing Horse's social media team!"

Recent form suggests it may be a litle while before Ferrari can hit back, with Mercedes again heavily favoured to be the team to beat in this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid.

READ MORE: Charles Leclerc could miss Spanish GP, faces 'hardest return in sports' with FIA health exam

READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton made one big Ferrari mistake and now he is paying - 'Why didn't he get it sorted'

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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