The 2026 Italian Grand Prix, held at the historic Monza circuit, produced one of the most thrilling races of the season. Kimi Antonelli secured a historic victory in front of his home crowd after fighting his way up from 19th on the grid to first place. The Italian Mercedes driver put in a spectacular performance and further consolidated his lead in the championship.
Antonelli started the race from the back of the grid due to a penalty relating to the power unit. However, from the very first laps he began to make up places at an impressive rate. The Italian capitalised on his speed and several battles amongst his rivals to quickly move up into the leading positions.
The race was also marked by a heavy crash involving Charles Leclerc in the opening laps. The Ferrari driver lost control of his car at the Parabolica whilst battling with Oscar Piastri and crashed into the barriers. The crash triggered a red flag and forced the race to be halted for several minutes whilst the barriers were repaired. Leclerc emerged unscathed, but was forced to retire from Ferrari’s home Grand Prix.
Antonelli beats Russell to claim a historic victory
After the restart, George Russell held the lead for much of the race in his Mercedes. However, Antonelli continued to make his way up the field and eventually moved into second place after overtaking several of the favourites.
Strategy also proved decisive. During a Virtual Safety Car period, Antonelli pitted to fit new medium tyres, whilst Russell decided to stay out on the track on hard tyres that were beginning to lose grip. This difference allowed the Italian to gradually close the gap on his team-mate.
In the final laps, Antonelli launched his decisive attack on Russell and managed to overtake him to take the lead. He eventually crossed the chequered flag in first place with a lead of 3.857 seconds, securing his seventh victory of the season. Russell finished second and Max Verstappen completed the podium for Red Bull.
Ferrari has a day to forget at home
The result was particularly tough for Ferrari, who had hoped to be in contention for victory in front of their fans. Charles Leclerc, who had qualified third, was forced to retire following his crash, whilst Lewis Hamilton had to settle for sixth place.
Hamilton didn’t have an easy start either, as he lost several places following an incident with his own team-mate on the first lap. Despite making up ground during the race, Ferrari were unable to challenge for the podium places and ended up having one of their most difficult days at Monza.
With this victory, Antonelli has further extended his lead at the top of the World Championship standings and has emerged as the star of the weekend. Furthermore, his win holds special significance for Italy: it is the first victory by an Italian rider at their home Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. Monza thus witnessed another historic moment, this time with Antonelli as the hero in front of his home crowd.
