Kimi Antonelli started from P19 on Sunday. By the time the chequered flag was waving at the Italian GP 2026, he was standing on the top step at his home race. Meanwhile, Ferrari experienced a very difficult race that only one of their cars could finish. Monza gave us chaos, a comeback, and a moment of history.
The drive that won the Italian GP 2026
Kimi Antonelli started his race from P19 due to a planned engine change that had earned him a 30-place grid penalty. Before the weekend had even begun, the conversation around his side of the garage was primarily about gaining positions, not reaching the podium.
But the 20-year-old had other ideas.
He had already climbed up seven positions before Charles Leclerc’s crash on lap two. At the restart after the red flag, he kept gaining more positions, and by lap 18 he had reached his teammate and championship rival, George Russell, who was the race leader at this point.
The two Mercedes battled for the top position for a large part of the race. When Stroll’s Aston Martin stopped on the track, a Virtual Safety Car was called, and Mercedes pitted Antonelli for fresh medium tyres while Russell stayed out on used hards. Antonelli dropped back temporarily, but came back stronger. With just four laps to go, he grabbed the lead of the race and didn’t let go until he crossed the chequered flag.
This marked his seventh win of the season, and the occasion was made even more special by the fact that this was also the first win by an Italian driver at Monza since 1966. And one of the greatest comeback drives the sport has seen in a long time.
“I could never have imagined to be here today but we managed to pull it off. It’s a dream coming true.”
Kimi Antonelli
Russell crossed the line second, admitting he was surprised to see Antonelli pit under the VSC. It was a gamble that didn’t go his way, but second place keeps him firmly ahead of Hamilton in the standings.
A weekend to forget for the Tifosi
While Antonelli was making his way up the field, Ferrari were going the other direction.
It started going wrong at turn 2 on the very first lap. Leclerc and Hamilton went wheel to wheel, Hamilton ran wide into the gravel and dropped down the order. As for Leclerc, who was already in a difficult position, he lost control on the second lap and hit the barriers. Race over before it had properly started.
Hamilton did manage to recover to sixth place, but it wasn’t the afternoon Ferrari had planned. It is fair to say that the Italian team had a difficult home race.
“A bit devastating. Tough one to swallow.”
Lewis Hamilton
The rest of the story at Monza
Verstappen had a strong race by Red Bull’s recent standards, and finished third after battling his way through the field. He admitted the car was too slow on the straights to seriously challenge the Mercedes drivers, but made up for it with his late braking moves.
Gasly’s pole position, which was Alpine’s first since 2009, was not for long as he dropped to seventh by the end. Still, it was a great result for the French team. His teammate Colapinto ran as high as third at the restart before going off and dropping down the order, eventually fighting his way back to ninth.
Norris and Piastri finished fourth and fifth for McLaren after a close battle between the two of them in the closing laps. Lindblad was eighth for Racing Bulls, with Tsunoda tenth, splitting the two Alpines and keeping Racing Bulls ahead in their fight for fifth in the constructors.
On To Madrid
After the Italian GP 2026, Antonelli heads to Madrid with a 66-point lead over Russell and seven wins from thirteen races. The championship is starting to feel increasingly one-sided, though Monza was also a reminder that a grid penalty and a red flag can change everything in the span of a few laps.
The Spanish GP is next, at the brand-new Madring circuit in Madrid. It is a back-to-back weekend, and one thing is for sure: this season is not slowing down any time soon.
