Italian GP 2026: Antonelli wins from P19 as Mercedes turns Monza into a title statement
Kimi Antonelli recovered from 19th to win at Monza, while Mercedes took a one-two and extended its control of both championship standings.
Kimi Antonelli started the Italian Grand Prix from 19th and won at Monza, passing George Russell with three laps left to give Mercedes a one-two. Max Verstappen finished third, while Ferrari lost Charles Leclerc to an early crash and brought Lewis Hamilton home sixth. Antonelli now leads Russell by 66 points after Round 13. 12
The result: Antonelli wins the long way round
Antonelli's victory came after an engine penalty moved him from seventh in qualifying to 19th on the grid. He completed all 53 laps and beat Russell by 3.857 seconds. Verstappen finished another 10.861 seconds back in third, with the two McLarens close behind. 3
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap / status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes 3 | 1:51:15.281 | 25 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes 3 | +3.857s | 18 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing 3 | +14.718s | 15 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren 3 | +19.056s | 12 |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren 3 | +19.253s | 10 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari 3 | +24.655s | 8 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine 3 | +27.351s | 6 |
| 8 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls 3 | +45.136s | 4 |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine 3 | +47.353s | 2 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls 3 | +58.187s | 1 |
Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Lawson, Bearman, Ocon, Albon, Perez and Bottas completed the classified finishers. Stroll, Alonso and Leclerc retired. Perez received a five-second penalty for failing to follow the Race Director's instructions at the escape road. 3
The result also gave Italy its first Monza winner since 1966. Antonelli became the home crowd's race winner after recovering 18 places from the published starting grid. 1
Qualifying: Gasly took the pole, penalties reshaped the grid
Pierre Gasly delivered Alpine's first pole of the season with a 1:21.786. Russell missed pole by 0.060 seconds. Piastri qualified third, but a three-place grid drop for impeding Liam Lawson in Q2 sent him to sixth. Antonelli's engine penalty sent him to the back. 4
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Q3 time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine 5 | 1:21.786 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes 5 | 1:21.846 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren 5 | 1:21.966 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari 5 | 1:22.004 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari 5 | 1:22.011 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing 5 | 1:22.070 |
| 7 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes 5 | 1:22.093 |
| 8 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine 5 | 1:22.220 |
| 9 | Lando Norris | McLaren 5 | 1:22.256 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls 5 | 1:22.286 |
Gasly stayed fast through Q1, Q2 and Q3, then found another improvement on his final lap. Russell reported brake locking and lost time in traffic behind Verstappen. Ferrari reached Q3 by tiny margins: Hamilton advanced by 0.001 seconds and Leclerc by 0.008 seconds. 4
The penalties changed the race's opening picture. Colapinto moved up to seventh after Antonelli's penalty. Lawson started from the pit lane after engine and rear-wing changes, while Alonso also started from the pit lane after power-unit work. 1
The race: a red flag gave Antonelli a second start
Gasly and Russell started on medium tyres. Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen chose softs, while Antonelli started on hards. Hamilton and Leclerc made contact on Lap 1, sending Hamilton through the gravel. Russell passed Gasly for the lead on Lap 2, then Leclerc crashed at Curva Alboreto. The Safety Car became a red flag. 1
The restart put Russell ahead of Gasly and Verstappen, with Antonelli further back on medium tyres. Antonelli reached seventh immediately, moved to fourth by roughly Lap 13, and passed Russell for the lead at Turn 1 on Lap 18. Russell repassed him, and the Mercedes drivers traded the lead through the first two chicanes. The team then asked Antonelli to stop yo-yoing while Russell managed the gap to Verstappen. 1
The middle phase turned on a Virtual Safety Car. Alonso retired with suspected car damage and Stroll stopped with a hydraulic problem. Hulkenberg, Ocon and Sainz pitted immediately. Antonelli took fresh mediums, while Verstappen took hards one lap later. Russell stayed out on used hards and kept the lead, but the older tyre lost performance as the race entered its final third. 1
Antonelli and Verstappen returned around sixth and seventh, then passed Gasly and Norris. With about 20 laps left, both were roughly 10 seconds behind Russell. Hamilton's mistake on Lap 35 moved Antonelli forward again. Antonelli passed Piastri for second on Lap 36 and began closing Russell. 1
Antonelli tried the first chicane on Lap 49 and ran through the gravel. The failed attempt cost him time, yet the Mercedes remained within reach. On Lap 50, Antonelli passed Russell between Lesmo 2 and the Ascari chicane. Antonelli then opened a 3.857-second gap before the chequered flag. 1
Strategy: track position versus fresh rubber
Monza's first strategic split came before the race started. Russell and Gasly used mediums for the opening stint, while Verstappen and the Ferraris used softs. Antonelli's hard-tyre start gave him a longer first phase after beginning from 19th. The red flag then allowed the field to reset its tyre plans. 1
| Driver | Start tyre | Decisive stop | Race effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimi Antonelli | Hards before the red flag; mediums at the restart 1 | Fresh mediums during the VSC 1 | The stop gave Antonelli the tyre life to close a 10-second gap and pass Russell late. |
| George Russell | Mediums before the red flag; hards at the restart 1 | Stayed out on used hards during the VSC 1 | Track position kept Russell in front, while tyre wear left him vulnerable in the final laps. |
| Max Verstappen | Softs before the red flag; hards at the restart 1 | Hards during the VSC 1 | The stop put Verstappen into the recovery fight, but he finished 10.861 seconds behind Russell. |
| Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri | Pirelli choices changed at the restart; both finished on the lead lap 1 | The McLarens stayed outside the Mercedes battle after the VSC sequence 1 | Norris won the late McLaren fight for fourth by 0.197 seconds. |
Russell's decision made sense while the hard tyre still protected the lead. A pit stop would have surrendered track position to Antonelli and Verstappen, while staying out preserved the immediate advantage. Antonelli's fresher mediums changed the calculation after Lap 45: the Mercedes title leader could attack without waiting for another pit window. The final pass came from pace built by the tyre choice and from Mercedes keeping both cars in the fight.
Incidents and performances
- Antonelli: The home driver combined an engine penalty, a P19 start, a recovery through the field and a late pass on his title rival. The 25 points extended his lead to 66.
- Russell: Russell had the race under control after the red-flag restart and led the middle phase. His used-hards gamble produced second place and kept Mercedes at the front, even as Antonelli's fresh tyres became decisive.
- Gasly: Gasly converted a surprise pole into seventh and six points. Alpine's qualifying speed gave the team a strong opening position, while the race pace fell behind Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren.
- Verstappen: Verstappen recovered to third after starting fifth and stopping under the VSC. He spent the final phase within range of Russell and Antonelli, then finished 14.718 seconds behind Antonelli.
- Ferrari: Leclerc's Lap 2 crash ended Ferrari's home-race challenge. Hamilton recovered from the Lap 1 gravel excursion to sixth, leaving Ferrari with eight race points.
- Racing Bulls: Lindblad finished eighth and Tsunoda scored his first point of the weekend's race in tenth. The two results gave Racing Bulls 10 points at Monza.
The r/formula1 post-race discussion thread had 3,903 comments when retrieved on 7 September. The number measures the weekend's discussion volume, with particular attention around Antonelli's comeback and Leclerc's crash; it does not settle any on-track dispute. 6
Championship after Monza
Antonelli's win turned a 59-point advantage after Zandvoort into a 66-point advantage after Monza. Russell scored 18 points, while Hamilton and Norris remained third and fourth in the drivers' standings. 27
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points | Gap to Antonelli |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes 2 | 267 | Leader |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes 2 | 201 | -66 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari 2 | 191 | -76 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren 2 | 171 | -96 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari 2 | 155 | -112 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing 2 | 127 | -140 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren 2 | 116 | -151 |
Mercedes leads Ferrari by 122 points in the constructors' championship. Ferrari holds second on 346, McLaren sits third on 287, and Red Bull has 204. Racing Bulls moved to fifth on 75 points after Lindblad and Tsunoda scored at Monza. 7
| Pos. | Constructor | Points | Gap to Mercedes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes 7 | 468 | Leader |
| 2 | Ferrari 7 | 346 | -122 |
| 3 | McLaren 7 | 287 | -181 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing 7 | 204 | -264 |
| 5 | Racing Bulls 7 | 75 | -393 |
Antonelli's title position is now the central fact of the season. Russell had the grid advantage and led the race, yet Antonelli still took the full 25 points. Ferrari's 8-point home haul widened the constructors' gap, while McLaren's two cars finished fourth and fifth without closing the title fight at the front. 3
F1 moves to Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix on 11-13 September. Mercedes arrives with the drivers' leader, the constructors' leader and both cars on the top two steps at Monza. 1
References
- 1Official Italian Grand Prix race report
formula1.com
- 22026 Drivers' Championship standings
formula1.com
- 3
- 4Official Italian GP qualifying report
formula1.com
- 5Official Italian GP qualifying classification
formula1.com
- 62026 Italian GP - Post-Race Discussion
reddit.com
- 7
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