Kimi Antonelli staged an extraordinary comeback at his home Italian Grand Prix, climbing from a 19th‑place start to claim the top step of the podium after a relentless duel with his Mercedes teammate George Russell. The young driver was not tipped to fight for the win because of grid penalties incurred from exceeding his allocated engine usage, yet he surged through the pack in the early stages, especially during the red‑flag period triggered by Charles Leclerc's massive crash. Antonelli’s rapid pace allowed him to close the gap on Russell, who was on an alternative tyre strategy, and the two eventually found themselves locked in a battle for the lead.
During the first half of the race, the front runners – Russell, Antonelli and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – broke away from the rest of the field, swapping the lead several times. The 2026 power‑unit regulations, combined with Monza’s long straights and the benefit of slipstreaming, produced a classic yo‑yo effect where positions changed rapidly. On lap 29, just past the halfway point, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed after Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin came to a halt on the track. This safety‑car period prompted a crucial round of pit stops: Antonelli and Verstappen both dived into the pits for fresh medium tyres, while Russell stayed out on his hard compound.
The pit stops shuffled the order. Antonelli emerged in sixth place, Verstappen in seventh, and both were roughly fifteen seconds behind the race leader Russell. However, the fresher rubber gave them a significant speed advantage, and they quickly clawed back through the field. By the final ten laps, Antonelli had re‑joined Russell’s tail and was within striking distance of the lead.
With five laps remaining, Antonelli attempted an overtake at the first chicane but ran wide as the tarmac began to break up under the intense Monza heat. The moment was tense; he briefly lost momentum and feared his chances were slipping away.
Undeterred, he re‑established his position behind Russell and, on the next lap, made a decisive move at the Ascari chicane, taking the lead with just three laps to go. Verstappen defended his position against the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, ultimately securing third place. The victory moved Antonelli 66 points ahead of Russell in the Drivers' Championship, while Russell is also expected to face his own grid penalties at an upcoming event. After crossing the line, a jubilant Antonelli said, "Unbelievable!
I am so happy and I could never have imagined being here today. We managed to pull it off and I’m really, really happy." Norris managed to limit the damage for McLaren, finishing fourth after a heated battle with teammate Piastri in the closing stages.
He now trails Antonelli by 96 points. Ferrari, which had entered Monza with high hopes, saw Lewis Hamilton finish sixth after being forced onto the gravel by teammate Leclerc’s crash on lap three. Pole‑sitter Pierre Gasly struggled to maintain pace, dropping to seventh behind Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, his Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto, and fellow Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda.
The final classification read as follows: 1) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 2) George Russell (Mercedes), 3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 4) Lando Norris (McLaren), 5) Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 6) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 7) Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 8) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), 9) Franco Colapinto (Alpine), 10) Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls). Mercedes had devised an alternative strategy for Antonelli from the outset, starting him on the hard tyre to allow a longer first stint.
This paid off when Antonelli vaulted from 19th to 12th within the first three laps, just before Leclerc’s dramatic incident at the high‑speed final corner. The red flag that followed gave the entire field an opportunity to change tyres, resetting the race order. When the race restarted, Russell inherited pole position, having taken the lead from original pole‑sitter Gasly on the second lap. Verstappen moved up two places to sit third.
Most drivers elected the hard compound, but Verstappen, Hamilton (who had been pushed into the gravel by Leclerc on the opening lap), and Antonelli were among six drivers who chose the medium tyre, seeking a performance edge. Russell defended his lead initially, but Verstappen soon closed in, overtaking Gasly and then surprising the field by passing Russell as well.
While Verstappen and Russell fought, Antonelli surged forward, passing the Racing Bulls pair, Piastri, title rivals Norris and Hamilton, and Gasly to reach third place after just 13 laps. The pack remained tightly bunched, turning the race into a three‑way contest between Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen.
Mercedes encouraged its drivers to cooperate using the newly introduced Overtake Mode, which grants extra electrical power when a car is within one second of the car ahead. This cooperation helped Antonelli and Russell gradually distance themselves from Verstappen. The pivotal moment arrived on lap 29 when Stroll’s car stopped with a reliability issue, prompting a Virtual Safety Car.
Russell, on hard tyres, stayed out, while Antonelli and Verstappen, on mediums, pitted for fresh rubber. Post‑pit‑stop, Antonelli’s pace was blistering.
He swiftly passed Gasly, Norris, Hamilton and Piastri, posting lap times that threatened to close the gap to Russell. The lead change seemed inevitable, but Antonelli’s first attempt to overtake Russell at Turn 2 saw him run wide as the surface fractured under the scorching conditions.
He briefly feared his chance had vanished, but after a short recovery he re‑joined Russell’s tail and, on the final lap through the Ascari chicane, seized the lead and rode it home. Reflecting on the moment he ran wide, Antonelli said, "It was quite scary at the moment. The tarmac was breaking up, but I still thought I could make the corner. I went over a bit of gravel and thought maybe I’d lost my chance, but luckily we still had the pace and managed to bring it home." Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar moves to Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the brand‑new Madring circuit.
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