Kimi Antonelli has made Formula 1 history at Monza, winning the 2026 Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid after an extraordinary comeback in front of his home crowd. The Mercedes championship leader chased down team-mate George Russell and passed him in the closing stages to become the first Italian driver to win his home Grand Prix in 60 years.
Nino Farina, Alberto Ascari and Ludovico Scarfiotti now have another name alongside them: Andrea Kimi Antonelli. His seventh Formula 1 victory of 2026 will always carry something more than the others. Winning at Monza was special enough; doing it after starting on the penultimate row transformed the afternoon into one of the defining performances of his young career.
Kimi Antonelli wins Italian GP after incredible charge from 19th
This time Monza did not belong to Ferrari, or to any of the other leading contenders. It belonged entirely to Kimi Antonelli. The 20-year-old became a hero on home soil with a victory made remarkable not only by the result, but by the way he constructed it.
Antonelli had entered Sunday facing what Mercedes expected to be a damage-limitation exercise after his power unit penalty left even a podium looking extremely difficult. Instead, he climbed from 19th to first and delivered a result that could carry enormous weight in the championship battle.
The season remains long, but the psychological impact on George Russell and Antonelli’s other title rivals could be significant. What appeared to be an opportunity for them to reduce his championship advantage instead became one of Antonelli’s biggest statements yet.
George Russell controls race before Antonelli appears behind him
George Russell led for much of the Grand Prix and did so with authority. The British driver handled both starts well and showed patience before making a safe move on Pierre Gasly, who had started from his surprise pole position.
Russell had looked like the driver most likely to convert Mercedes’ race pace into victory, particularly after missing pole position by just 0.060 seconds in qualifying.
Then Antonelli appeared behind him.
It had always seemed realistic that the Italian could recover towards the leading positions. What was far harder to imagine was the scale of his advantage once he arrived there. Antonelli methodically eliminated the gap and eventually broke Russell’s resistance to complete an extraordinary comeback.
For Russell, there was little more he could realistically have done. He maximised the performance available to him and managed the hard tyres fitted for the restart extremely well. Antonelli was simply too fast.
Antonelli victory delivers major statement in F1 title fight
The significance extends well beyond another Grand Prix victory. Antonelli has produced a performance that underlines why he has become the benchmark of the 2026 championship and why Mercedes’ faith in him has been rewarded so emphatically.
Winning his home race at just 20 years old would have been memorable under any circumstances. Winning it from 19th, in front of the Italian crowd and while leading the World Championship, gives the result a completely different dimension.
The victory also strengthens Antonelli’s position in the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship at a weekend that had initially looked likely to favour his closest rivals.
Max Verstappen holds off McLaren for third at Monza
Max Verstappen completed the podium with another determined performance in a Red Bull that remains heavily dependent on his ability to extract more than the car appears capable of delivering.
The four-time world champion had to resist intense pressure from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who staged their own fierce intra-team battle while fighting for the position immediately behind Verstappen.
Despite the limitations of the RB22, Max Verstappen once again managed to elevate the package and secure third place. Lando Norris eventually beat Oscar Piastri to fourth, leaving the two McLaren drivers just off the podium.
Charles Leclerc crashes heavily as Ferrari endures painful home race
While Antonelli celebrated an unforgettable Italian victory, Ferrari endured an extremely difficult Sunday at Monza.
Charles Leclerc crashed out on the second lap after losing control of the SF-26 at the final corner and hitting the barriers heavily. The car was badly damaged, but fortunately Charles Leclerc was able to climb out without injury.
The retirement ended Ferrari’s hopes of fighting at the front with both cars on home soil after the team had shown encouraging pace throughout the weekend. Ferrari had arrived at Monza with a package specifically adapted to the circuit, including changes aimed at reducing drag and improving the SF-26’s efficiency.
Lewis Hamilton’s race was less dramatic but still frustrating. The seven-time World Champion struggled badly during the second half of his long stint on the medium tyres and ultimately finished sixth.
Hamilton had spent much of the race fighting Max Verstappen and the two McLarens, but Ferrari ultimately lacked the performance required to stay with Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren on this type of circuit.
Lewis Hamilton recovers after first-lap battle with Charles Leclerc
Lewis Hamilton’s race was also compromised in the opening moments when Charles Leclerc squeezed him at the first chicane shortly after the original start. Hamilton was forced off track and dropped from seventh to tenth.
The former Mercedes driver fought his way back through the order as far as he could, but the cars directly ahead ultimately proved too strong over the course of the race.
Ferrari therefore leaves its home Grand Prix with only Hamilton’s sixth place after a weekend that had offered considerably greater promise.
Pierre Gasly drops from pole to seventh as Alpine scores with both cars
After taking a sensational pole position on Saturday, Pierre Gasly finished seventh. It was effectively the maximum Alpine could achieve once the race exposed the difference between its outstanding one-lap performance and the pace of the leading teams.
Toto Wolff had already predicted that Alpine would face a very different challenge over the full race distance, despite the remarkable straight-line speed that had helped Gasly beat Russell in qualifying.
There was still plenty for the Enstone team to celebrate, as Franco Colapinto completed a strong recovery from 16th on the grid to finish ninth and secure a double points result.
Arvid Lindblad and Yuki Tsunoda score as Audi narrowly misses points
Arvid Lindblad produced another impressive performance to finish eighth for Racing Bulls, while Yuki Tsunoda completed the top 10 and ensured the Faenza-based team also scored points with both cars.
Audi narrowly missed out, with Gabriel Bortoleto finishing 11th ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in 12th.
Carlos Sainz gave Williams a somewhat more encouraging afternoon by finishing 13th, ahead of Liam Lawson. The Red Bull substitute compromised his race following contact with Nico Hulkenberg, with Lawson responsible for the incident.
Haas’ difficult run continued as Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon finished 15th and 16th respectively.
Aston Martin suffers double retirement at Monza
Cadillac occupied the final two finishing positions, with Sergio Perez ahead of Valtteri Bottas. The team could at least take the small satisfaction of finishing ahead of Aston Martin, whose exceptionally difficult Monza weekend ended with both cars retiring.
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso retired within a lap of each other, with Stroll’s race ending because of a hydraulic failure.
But none of those stories could compete with what happened at the front. Kimi Antonelli arrived at Monza facing a back-row start and the prospect of surrendering valuable championship points. He left having won the Italian Grand Prix from 19th, becoming the first Italian to triumph at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti and giving the home crowd a victory it had waited six decades to celebrate.
