Kimi Antonelli claimed the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon in a phenomenal way. The Mercedes driver, also the leader in the World Championship standings, started nineteenth due to a grid penalty. In the final stages, Antonelli overtook his teammate George Russell. Behind both Mercedes cars, Max Verstappen skillfully guided his Red Bull to the podium.
Read more Result GP Italy 2026
In the early phase, the race ended for Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who went off the track at high speed. The Monegasque remained unharmed.
Relive the Italian GP in Monza below:
Polesitter and Alpine driver Pierre Gasly chose the medium compound before the start, as did George Russell (P2). Behind them, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen start the 53 laps at the Monza circuit on the fast soft tires. At the back, in P19, home favorite Kimi Antonelli starts on the hard compound. He hopes to make up ground with a different strategy.
On the way to the grid, Max Verstappen casually tells F1 TV that he hopes to fight for the podium. Last year he won in Monza (as in 2022 and 2023), but such a stunt seems unlikely today. The four-time world champion starts from P5.
FORMATION LAP: All 22 cars are on their formation lap. Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson, again in the Red Bull this weekend, start from the pit lane.
LAP 1/53: Gasly keeps the lead through the first corner, Hamilton falls back significantly as he is pushed into the gravel by his teammate Leclerc. Verstappen moves up to P4 as a result.
LAP 2/53: George Russell takes the lead from Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen follows shortly after to P3.
Severe crash Charles Leclerc
LAP 3/53: Severe crash Charles Leclerc! Safety Car! And red flag! The Monegasque Ferrari driver goes off the ideal line in a duel with Oscar Piastri and then crashes straight into the wall. Leclerc appears unharmed despite the heavy impact.
VIDEO: Watch the footage of Charles Leclerc’s severe crash in Monza here
LAP 4/53: The drivers gather in the pit lane for the restart. Top five soon: Russell, Gasly, Verstappen, Colapinto, Piastri. Two Alpines in the top five then. Antonelli is now in P12 by the way. Exact restart time is 15:39.
WARM-UP LAP: All remaining cars are back on track for a new warm-up lap, heading for a standing start. Verstappen switched from soft to medium compound during the break. Most drivers chose the hard tire. The start procedure is stopped because Yuki Tsunoda parked his car carelessly outside the starting box… So, a little more patience.
LAP 5/53: And we race again! George Russell keeps his leading position, followed by Gasly, Colapinto, and Verstappen. But in the second chicane, Verstappen retakes his third place. Then Colapinto drives his Alpine through the gravel, the Argentine falls back from the front runners.
Position swapping
LAP 9/53: With the new generation cars, managing the battery is also a big factor in Monza. So, there is a lot of position swapping on track. Current standings at the front: Russell, Verstappen, Gasly, Hamilton, Piastri, Antonelli, and Norris.
LAP 10/53: Hamilton passes Gasly for P3 and starts chasing Max Verstappen ahead of him. But the Dutchman sets the fastest lap of the race and is now in the slipstream of leader George Russell.
LAP 11/53: Max Verstappen takes the lead in the race by passing Russell on the long start/finish straight. The Italian tifosi cheer him on, their preference is clear. Kimi Antonelli has now moved up to P3!
LAP 14/53: Russell tries to pass again, but Verstappen defends fiercely by braking later and later. Antonelli takes advantage and is visibly closing in.
LAP 15/53: George Russell succeeds after all. The Brit retakes the lead, Verstappen tries to fight back in the back-and-forth duel, but shortly after he also sees Antonelli pass him. Verstappen is now back to P3.
LAP 18/53: Antonelli passes his Mercedes teammate Russell on the mediums (Russell on the hard compound). Starting from P19, the Italian World Championship leader is now leading his home race. Verstappen and Russell are close behind. Everything revolves around battery management and slipstreaming.
LAP 23/53: Antonelli and Russell are swapping positions repeatedly. Annoying and amusing at the same time. Russell leads again now. Verstappen is some distance behind in P3. Both Mercedes drivers are instructed over the radio to stop swapping and focus on their pace to keep Verstappen behind. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso has parked his Aston Martin in the pit box, the second retirement.
Busy pit lane
LAP 28/53: Virtual Safety Car due to Lance Stroll stopping. The pit lane becomes very busy. Antonelli and Verstappen come in for new tires, medium and hard respectively. They return to the track in P6 and P7 respectively.
LAP 33/53: Antonelli and Verstappen move up through the field. Both drivers still have a good chance for the podium. Antonelli is now in P4, Verstappen in P5, just ahead of world champion Lando Norris.
LAP 37/53: Antonelli takes second place after Hamilton first made a mistake on his worn mediums and shortly after Piastri has to concede. Verstappen is also approaching. George Russell must be getting increasingly nervous.
LAP 41/53: Max Verstappen is the fastest man on track on his new hard tires. Is there still a stunt in store for the Dutchman? He is definitely faster than both Mercedes cars ahead of him, but he feels the pressure from Piastri behind him.
Verstappen locks up
LAP 43/53: Verstappen locks up under braking and goes straight on. He has to give his position back to Oscar Piastri and drops to P4. The gap between leader Russell and teammate Antonelli is now only 4.7 seconds.
LAP 47/53: Russell is told to watch his tires. Meanwhile, Antonelli is closing in very quickly. The gap has shrunk to 1.6 seconds. Verstappen still in P3, with the McLarens of Piastri and Norris right behind him.
LAP 49/53: Antonelli seems to be taking the lead. Russell locks up, but the Italian also goes deep into the gravel and loses a lot of time. Now he has to start over again.
LAP 50/53: And now it goes well! Kimi Antonelli takes the lead by outsmarting his teammate Russell. And he immediately pulls away! Now it’s a matter of finishing the race! Max Verstappen is now fairly safe in P3, with almost three seconds lead over Oscar Piastri.
LAP 53/53: Kimi Antonelli is flagged as the winner. It is the 50th victory for an Italian in Formula 1 and the tifosi know it. They go crazy! Behind Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen are flagged as second and third respectively.
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Read everything about the Italian GP here
