The 2026 Italian Grand Prix was a spectacular showcase, regardless of how you feel about the new generation of Formula 1 cars. It will rank among the most memorable races I have called over my three‑decade career. Where Monza used to reward low tyre wear with long, orderly trains of cars, this edition turned into a nonstop battle of overtakes and counter‑attacks. The headline act was the storybook triumph of Italy's own Kimi Antonelli.
Starting from nineteenth on the grid, he vaulted into the lead after just eighteen laps. His opening lap combined patience, clever positioning and well‑timed aggression.
He negotiated the first chicane cautiously, then slipped past Yuki Tsunoda’s Racing Bull on the outside of the first Lesmo, repeated the move into the Ascari chicane, and finally squeezed between two rivals on the straight, hugging the edge of the grass. Monza has seen only two red‑flag incidents in this century, both in 2020 and now in 2026, and both involved Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari at the final Parabolica.
After defending against Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, Leclerc drifted slightly wide, accelerated onto the pit‑straight, and his left‑rear tyre ran over the green strip that covers a drain. The loss of grip sent the car sliding; when he corrected the steering, the front tyres suddenly regained traction, catapulting the Ferrari into the barriers with a 60 g impact. Leclerc emerged shaken but largely intact and should be fit for the upcoming race in Madrid.
After the race, a reliable insider hinted that Ferrari’s power unit can exhibit a brief surge of torque in such extreme situations, even in the simulator, although that comment did not come from the team itself. The red flag proved costly for George Russell, who had taken the lead early after passing pole‑sitter Pierre Gasly’s Alpine on lap two and was building a comfortable gap.
The stoppage erased his advantage and set up a second standing start, allowing every driver to change tyres under the rules. This meant many, including Russell, would have to manage a fifty‑lap stint on the same rubber.
Leclerc’s early‑lap tussle with teammate Lewis Hamilton added more drama. Ferrari had entered the weekend with lofty expectations, even Hamilton speaking about the significance of a Monza victory for the team. In reality the Ferraris struggled, scraping through Q2 into the top‑ten shoot‑out. Both drivers posted solid final laps, and with Oscar Piastri penalised three grid places for obstructing Liam Lawson in Q2, and Antonelli carrying power‑unit penalties, the Ferraris lined up side by side on the second row.
At the first chicane Hamilton braked early, cutting inside of Leclerc and forcing the Italian wide into Turn 2. The two cars ran side by side, Hamilton staying on the outside while Leclerc under‑steered and nudged Hamilton into the gravel. Whether Leclerc could have left more room is debatable, but the incident was judged a racing incident by the stewards, and no further action was taken. Monza’s chicanes are effectively treated as a single corner for rule‑making purposes, yet the opening‑lap melee is viewed through a different lens because the field starts in a tight pack.
Drivers accept that risk as part of the spectacle. Antonelli then began to carve his way through the field with remarkable pace, much to Russell’s surprise and evident frustration. A cat‑and‑mouse duel unfolded between the two Mercedes drivers, each trying to optimise engine and battery deployment for both outright speed and defensive capability.
When a car is within a second of the one ahead, the car can enter "overtake mode", which temporarily boosts battery charge by half a megajoule and sustains a higher top speed—an advantage on Monza’s long straights. Max Verstappen, despite being fundamentally slower than the Mercedes, kept the pressure on by exploiting the extra energy mode. He led for a spell before the Mercedes pit wall instructed their drivers to stop battling each other and instead focus on building a gap to the Red Bull, denying Verstappen the benefit of overtaking mode. The team complied, and the race order settled for a while.
A virtual safety car on lap 28 allowed the marshals to retrieve Lance Stroll’s disabled Aston Martin. Pitting under the VSC at Monza is a huge time‑saver: the reduced speed through the pit‑lane section cuts roughly nine seconds from the usual twenty‑four‑second loss when the rest of the field is at full speed. Russell stayed out on the hard tyres while his teammate Antonelli and Verstappen pitted for fresh mediums. Russell later claimed in post‑race interviews that he believed both cars would remain on track, and the team’s official statement described the split strategy as a tactical decision, reflecting uncertainty about whether track position or fresh rubber would be more advantageous.
It is clear Russell felt a bit bruised by the outcome. Antonelli, now on fresh tyres, began clawing back the fifteen‑second deficit, overtaking the likes of Lando Norris and Hamilton with impressive speed.
Verstappen found himself embroiled in a battle with the two McLarens, turning the race into a showdown of silver‑liveried machines. On fresh rubber Antonelli was lapping over a second faster, and his pursuit of Russell became inevitable.
Russell defended fiercely, braking late into the first chicane and running slightly wide. Antonelli, following into the next left‑hander, encountered loose stones as the surface began to break up again. The asphalt, repaired on Friday night, started to deteriorate under the relentless racing, sending Antonelli briefly into the gravel before he re‑entered ahead of Verstappen.
Approaching the Ascari chicane, Russell drifted left, allowing Antonelli to pass once more to the delight of the cheering crowd. Both drivers had been instructed to race cleanly, with Russell even told to "bring it home". Whether Russell deliberately let Antonelli through to trigger overtaking mode for the final corner is open to interpretation; by the chequered flag his tyres were fifty laps old and his options were limited. An Italian driver finally claimed the Italian Grand Prix for the first time in sixty years, and the stadium erupted in electric excitement.
The most thrilling duel at the finish was between the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Tensions ran high after qualifying, where Piastri seemed reluctant to give Norris a slipstream.
In the closing stages Norris felt Piastri clipped him on the grass approaching the second chicane, though space was tight. Norris carried momentum through the final chicane, possibly benefiting his energy deployment, and edged past the young Australian by just two‑tenths of a second—a finish that felt almost personal.
Monza’s "Theatre of Speed" might be better described today as a "Theatre of Overtaking" in this era of hybrid power units. The race was a breathless spectacle, and now the championship moves to Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the brand‑new Madring circuit, with live coverage on Sky Sports F1 starting this Friday.