Kimi Antonelli admits he has still not fully processed what happened at Monza. His victory in the 2026 Italian Grand Prix produced images destined to become part of Formula 1 history, triggered enormous excitement and delivered one of those weekends likely to remain with him throughout his career. Yet almost as soon as he stepped down from the podium, life returned to normal for the Mercedes driver.
There has been little time to absorb the significance of winning his home Grand Prix from 19th on the grid. Antonelli was back in a kart on Monday and working in the simulator on Tuesday, while attention has already shifted towards Formula 1’s first weekend at Madrid’s new Madring circuit. The championship leader expects the Spanish venue to present a very different and potentially unforgiving challenge.
Kimi Antonelli still trying to process historic Monza victory
“I still haven’t fully processed it,” Kimi Antonelli admitted. “On Monday I was already back at the kart track and on Tuesday I was in the simulator, so I still haven’t really had the chance to understand the full impact this victory has had. But there are some beautiful photos of the podium that I look at every day. It was an incredible moment.”
Even the celebrations were typically understated. Instead of organising a major party, Antonelli spent the following day karting with members of his Mercedes crew, continuing the same passion that accompanied him throughout his formative years.
“We were at the track, for a change. We had fun, it was a good day. The mechanics were happy and that was the important thing for me.”
Antonelli chose to drive a KZ kart, one of the most physically demanding karting categories. It was also the first time he had driven a kart since January.
“By the end of the day I was exhausted. The KZ destroyed me, definitely more than the Grand Prix. I was already tired from the race and I hadn’t driven one since January, so it was tough.”
His rapid return to karting after the biggest home victory of his career underlined just how quickly Antonelli returned to his normal routine following his remarkable Monza triumph.
Monza crowd gave Antonelli ‘something extra’
The conversation inevitably returns to the Italian Grand Prix. Antonelli had expected the majority of the Monza crowd to remain closely attached to Ferrari, but the support he experienced as the race unfolded went far beyond anything he had anticipated.
“It was extraordinary, beautiful. From halfway through the race onwards, when I came out of the first chicane, I could see an entire grandstand getting to its feet. It gave me an incredible boost, something extra. The support was fantastic and the celebrations were unforgettable.”
The final lap remains one of his clearest memories from the weekend.
“I did the whole lap with goosebumps. I kept pushing because I didn’t want to think too much. Then after the second Lesmo they told me on the radio to bring the car home. At that point I came out of the bubble a little and thought: ‘I can’t screw this up now.’ So through Ascari and Parabolica I took it a little easier.”
Antonelli’s charge from the back of the grid ultimately completed a Mercedes one-two ahead of George Russell and further demonstrated the strength of the package that had been evident throughout the weekend. The significance of Mercedes’ performance advantage at Monza was particularly clear on the circuit’s long straights.
Antonelli keeps signed Italian flag and wants Monza trophy back
Among the souvenirs Antonelli will keep is the Italian flag he carried onto the podium, which has itself become a special piece of memorabilia.
“I took it home with me. It’s the one I had on the podium and the fans signed it. There are lots of really nice messages on it. I also want to make a poster from one of the podium photographs.”
The Monza trophy, meanwhile, has temporarily remained at Mercedes’ Brackley headquarters, as commonly happens after Grand Prix weekends so employees can see and photograph the silverware. Antonelli fully intends to reclaim it afterwards.
There is another reason why that particular trophy has already become an unforgettable part of his Monza weekend. Having previously promised to do so if he won, Antonelli used it as a bowl for a serving of spaghetti.
“The pasta was good, although obviously it wasn’t at Bologna level,” Antonelli joked. “But the trophy and the location made up for it a lot. I’d like to keep the Monza one: it’s my home race and I’ll definitely treasure it.”
Messages arrive from Valentino Rossi, Jannik Sinner and Marco Bezzecchi
Antonelli received an enormous number of congratulatory messages following the victory, including messages from major figures in Italian sport such as Valentino Rossi, Jannik Sinner and Marco Bezzecchi.
“I received loads of them, and it was really nice to see so much excitement and support. It was beautiful. I’m only sorry that I wasn’t able to enjoy the moment a little more, because there’s another race straight away. Probably after Madrid, when I go home and have a free week, I’ll have time to really think about it and understand what happened.”
For now, however, Monza has already been placed to one side professionally. Mercedes must immediately prepare for a circuit nobody has raced on before, something Toto Wolff has also highlighted while warning that Madrid will present a very different test from Monza.
Kimi Antonelli compares Madring to Jeddah but sees even less margin
Listening to Antonelli describe Madring makes it clear how quickly his attention has shifted to the next challenge.
“The track is beautiful, with lots of elevation changes, and it’s tough. In some ways it reminds me of Jeddah, but here there is even less margin for error. At Jeddah there are some places, even through the fast corners, where if you make a mistake you can run a little wide. Here the margin is practically zero.”
The speeds will also be far higher than might traditionally be expected from a street circuit. Antonelli estimates that the large banked corner could be taken at around 270-275km/h in qualifying, while several changes of direction will also be negotiated at more than 200km/h.
For Antonelli, however, the greatest difficulty at Madring may not be the driving itself.
“It’s a very complicated circuit from a setup point of view as well because there are every type of corner: chicanes, slow corners and fast corners. There are braking zones where the car is straight and others where you have to brake while steering. In some places it will be very easy to lock a wheel.”
Kerbs make finding the right Mercedes setup even harder
Aggressive kerb use will add another variable to the engineering challenge.
“You need a car that is able to absorb them well. It will be really difficult to find the right compromise across the whole lap. It’s going to be a huge challenge for both us drivers and the engineers.”
That makes Friday’s opening practice session particularly important. Simulator preparation has given Antonelli a strong theoretical understanding of Madring, but the 20-year-old knows that reality can differ substantially from simulation.
“I think in FP1 the objective will be to complete as many laps as possible, get into a rhythm and learn the track. I’ve done a lot of work in the simulator, but when you arrive at the circuit it’s always different. We will also have to understand what the grip level is going to be because at the moment the asphalt is very dirty.”
On a circuit where the walls are close, losing track time could prove more costly than usual.
“You have to try to complete every lap possible because you never know what might happen with red or yellow flags. It won’t be easy.”
Why Madrid’s new asphalt could help Mercedes
From a performance perspective, Antonelli sees characteristics that could work in Mercedes’ favour. The first is the newly laid asphalt.
“It’s a surface that should give us quite a lot of grip and that can help us. McLaren currently has a little more grip and a little more downforce than us, also thanks to the updates they have brought. We haven’t had developments since Canada and at tracks where you need bigger wings we are lacking a little bit of downforce.”
The comparison also relates to Mercedes’ experience at Zandvoort, where the nature of the surface created a different set of problems.
“With old asphalt, where the car slides more and puts more stress on the tyres, we struggled particularly in the race. Here, however, the new asphalt and the higher level of grip could compensate a little for that small lack of downforce. The same thing happened at Monza.”
McLaren has continued developing its package during the season and remains a major threat on circuits where additional grip and aerodynamic load are particularly valuable. The Woking team’s development push has already been central to its resurgence, with McLaren continuing to target Mercedes through its latest upgrade programme.
Ferrari could also be competitive at high-downforce Madring
Antonelli expects aerodynamic load to play an important role in Madrid and also considers Ferrari one of the teams that could potentially be competitive.
“Here, the more downforce you have, the better. There aren’t any very long straights and there are a lot of corners, so the more grip you can generate, the faster you can go.”
The new Madrid race represents one of the biggest unknowns on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar. Simulator programmes can establish an initial setup direction, but teams will only discover the true grip level, kerb characteristics and tyre behaviour once FP1 begins.
Antonelli expects overtaking to be difficult in Madrid
One final unknown is overtaking. Antonelli does not believe the layout offers many straightforward opportunities to pass, and when asked about the ideal strategy for Sunday, the Mercedes driver smiled before offering a simple solution.
“You need to start on pole, make a good start and disappear. Because otherwise overtaking here isn’t going to be easy.”
It is a remark that captures how rapidly Antonelli’s focus has moved on. The photographs of his historic Monza podium may still be something he looks at every day, but there is little time for nostalgia while leading the Formula 1 World Championship. Madrid brings another completely new challenge – and one in which finding the limit without crossing it could matter just as much as outright speed.
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