Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday, September 6, 2026, charging from 19th on the grid to beat Mercedes team-mate George Russell by 3.857 seconds at his home race. The 20-year-old, who had qualified seventh before an engine-change penalty dropped him to the back of the grid, made the decisive pass on Russell with three laps to go to claim his seventh win of the season and become the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. Max Verstappen completed the podium in third for Red Bull.
Key Takeaways
- Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid, his seventh victory of the season, finishing 3.857 seconds ahead of George Russell.
- He is the first Italian to win at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966, ending a 60-year wait for a home winner.
- Pierre Gasly took the first pole position of his career for Alpine but faded to seventh in the race.
- Charles Leclerc crashed out on lap 2 after contact with Lewis Hamilton, triggering a red flag; Ferrari left their home race with just eight points.
- Antonelli’s championship lead over Russell grew from 59 to 66 points with 10 rounds remaining, starting with the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid next weekend.
The Italian Grand Prix, round 13 of 23 on the 2026 calendar, is run over 53 laps of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the fastest circuit in Formula 1 and the spiritual home of Ferrari. This year’s edition had almost everything: a shock pole-sitter, a first-lap collision between the two Ferraris, a red flag, a strategy gamble under a Virtual Safety Car and a wheel-to-wheel fight between team-mates for the win. It ended with the Tifosi celebrating an Italian winner, even if he was wearing Mercedes silver rather than Ferrari red.
How did Kimi Antonelli win the Italian Grand Prix?
Antonelli’s weekend looked compromised before the race began. He qualified seventh on Saturday, but a grid penalty for taking a new power unit ahead of the weekend dropped him to 19th on the grid. When the race was red-flagged on lap 2 following Charles Leclerc’s heavy crash, the standing restart offered a reset. Most of the field switched to hard tyres, but Antonelli, along with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, restarted on mediums and set about climbing through the order with a series of fast, clean overtakes.
At the front, Russell had passed pole-sitter Pierre Gasly for the lead on lap 2 and controlled the restart. Verstappen briefly took the lead into Turn 1 on lap 12, but Russell reclaimed it at the second chicane on lap 15, and Antonelli then passed Verstappen at the same corner on lap 16 to make it a Mercedes one-two. The race turned on lap 29, when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopped with a hydraulic problem and brought out a Virtual Safety Car. Mercedes pitted Antonelli for fresh medium tyres and Verstappen also stopped for hards, but Russell stayed out on his used hards. It proved the decisive strategy call.
Russell’s tyres faded in the closing laps, and Antonelli caught him with five laps to go. His first attempt at the first chicane on lap 49 failed, with all four wheels running through the gravel on a track surface that was breaking up in the heat, but he kept the car going. One lap later he made the pass stick between Lesmo 2 and the Ascari chicane, with three laps remaining, and pulled clear to win by 3.857 seconds. He capped the drive with the fastest lap of the race, a 1:23.504 on the final tour. “Unbelievable! I’m so happy,” Antonelli said afterwards. “I could never have imagined to be here today, but we managed to pull it off. It’s a dream coming true.”
What were the key incidents and penalties?
Ferrari’s home race unravelled within two laps. Leclerc and Hamilton made contact at the first chicane on the opening lap, forcing Hamilton into the gravel; he rejoined and continued, but on lap 2 Leclerc crashed heavily at the high-speed final corner, the Curva Alboreto, better known as the Parabolica. He walked away unhurt. The Safety Car was deployed and the race was then red-flagged so the barriers could be repaired. The stewards took no action over the team-mates’ first-lap clash, but Ferrari left Monza with only eight points from Hamilton’s sixth place.
Aston Martin suffered a double retirement, with Fernando Alonso stopping after 23 laps with suspected car damage and Stroll’s hydraulic failure on lap 29 triggering the Virtual Safety Car that shaped the finish. Sergio Perez received a five-second time penalty for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions and dropped to 18th. Yuki Tsunoda was investigated for lining up in the wrong grid box at the red-flag restart but escaped without penalty, keeping 10th place and the final point, and Russell was cleared of a possible yellow-flag infringement. An incident between Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson at Turn 4 was noted but not punished. Lawson was again driving the second Red Bull Racing car in place of Isack Hadjar, who is still recovering from the wrist injury he suffered during the summer break, with Tsunoda filling Lawson’s seat at Racing Bulls.
What was the full Italian Grand Prix 2026 race result?
Antonelli led home Russell and Verstappen, with Lando Norris edging McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri for fourth by just 0.197 seconds after a feisty late battle. Hamilton, who made a mistake at the first chicane on lap 35 and lost a place to Antonelli, finished sixth ahead of pole-sitter Gasly. Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto and Tsunoda completed the points. The top 10 finishers are shown below.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Winner |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | +3.857s |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +14.718s |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +19.056s |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +19.253s |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +24.655s |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +27.351s |
| 8 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +45.136s |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +47.353s |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | +58.187s |
Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th and 12th for Audi, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Lawson, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Alexander Albon, Perez and Valtteri Bottas. Three drivers failed to finish: Stroll, Alonso and Leclerc.
Who were the standout performers at Monza?
Antonelli’s drive from 19th to first, at home, in front of a crowd desperate for an Italian winner, was the performance of the season so far. Russell deserves credit too: he beat Gasly to the lead on lap 2, repelled Verstappen in the middle of the race and was only undone by a strategy gamble that left him on worn hard tyres against his team-mate’s fresh mediums. Verstappen’s third place was a solid recovery from sixth on the grid.
Saturday belonged to Pierre Gasly. The Alpine driver took the first pole position of his Formula 1 career with a lap of 1:21.786, beating Russell by 0.060 seconds at the circuit where he scored his only Grand Prix win back in 2020. He did not have the race pace to hold on, slipping behind Hamilton, Piastri and Antonelli in succession around lap 10 before settling for seventh, but the pole was a landmark moment for both driver and team. Alpine doubled up in the points with Colapinto ninth, and rookie Arvid Lindblad took a strong eighth for Racing Bulls after qualifying 10th.
What does the result mean for the 2026 championship?
Antonelli’s seventh win of the year stretched his championship lead over Russell from 59 to 66 points. He now has 267 points to Russell’s 201, with Hamilton third on 191 after his sixth place moved him clear of the Mercedes driver’s shadow. Norris climbed to 171 with his fourth place, while Leclerc’s non-score left him stuck on 155 and 16 points adrift of the McLaren driver. Verstappen sits sixth on 127, ahead of Piastri on 116, Hadjar on 71, Lawson on 51 and Gasly on 41.
In the constructors’ championship, Mercedes’ one-two extended their advantage to 122 points, with 468 to Ferrari’s 346. McLaren are third on 287 after their double top-five finish, Red Bull have 204 and Racing Bulls round out the top five on 75. With 10 rounds remaining, Antonelli and Mercedes hold commanding positions in both title races.
When is the next Formula 1 race?
Formula 1 heads straight to the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring street circuit in Madrid on September 11-13, with the race on Sunday, September 13, one week after Monza. It is a very different test from the flat-out straights and chicanes of the Autodromo Nazionale, and a new venue for every driver on the grid. Antonelli arrives with a 66-point cushion, while Russell, Hamilton and Norris will be looking to stop the momentum before the championship becomes a formality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2026 Italian Grand Prix?
Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Italian Grand Prix at Monza for Mercedes, his seventh win of the season. He started 19th after an engine-change penalty and finished 3.857 seconds ahead of team-mate George Russell, with Max Verstappen third.
Why did Antonelli start 19th at Monza?
Antonelli qualified seventh but took a grid penalty for fitting a new power unit before the weekend, dropping him to 19th on the grid. Alexander Albon and Liam Lawson also took engine-change penalties.
What happened to Charles Leclerc at the Italian Grand Prix?
Leclerc made contact with Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the first chicane on lap 1, then crashed heavily at the Parabolica on lap 2. He was unhurt, but the race was red-flagged for barrier repairs and he scored no points.
What are the F1 championship standings after the Italian Grand Prix?
Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship on 267 points, 66 ahead of George Russell on 201. Lewis Hamilton is third on 191, Lando Norris fourth on 171 and Charles Leclerc fifth on 155. Mercedes lead the constructors’ championship with 468 points to Ferrari’s 346.
When is the next F1 race after Italy?
The Spanish Grand Prix takes place at the new Madring street circuit in Madrid on September 11-13, 2026, with the race on Sunday, September 13.
