Antonelli wins 2026 Italian GP from 19th: first Italian winner since 1966
Kimi Antonelli lined up 19th at Monza after a grid penalty for a power unit change, on hard tires chosen to stretch his first stint as long as possible. Fifty-three laps later he stood on the top step of the podium as the first Italian to win his home Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. Between those two moments: a red flag after Leclerc's crash, a restart, five lead changes in five laps, a second pit stop, and a trip through the gravel four laps from the finish.
Five moments that decided the race
- End of lap 2: Charles Leclerc loses the rear of his Ferrari exiting Parabolica and hits the barrier. Red flag; roughly half an hour to repair the tire wall.
- Restart: George Russell lines up first; Antonelli is already 12th, having gained seven places in the three laps before the stoppage.
- Lap 17: Antonelli takes the lead exiting Parabolica, completing a charge from 19th to first. The battle with his teammate begins.
- Virtual safety car for Lance Stroll's stopped Aston Martin: Antonelli pits for a second set of intermediate tires and drops to sixth, 15.5 seconds behind Russell.
- Lap 50: after an unsuccessful attack at the first chicane and a trip through the gravel, Antonelli passes Russell exiting the second Lesmo and drives to victory.
Leclerc's crash and the red flag that reshuffled the race
Ferrari's Sunday had already gone wrong at the first chicane, where Lewis Hamilton tried to pass Leclerc on the inside, went off track, and dropped to ninth. Over team radio he said his teammate had pushed him out. Then, at the end of lap 2, it got considerably worse. Leclerc was defending third from Oscar Piastri when he lost the rear exiting Parabolica, slid through the gravel, and hit the tire barrier. The impact looked almost identical to his crash at the same spot in 2020.
Leclerc climbed out unaided, moved clear of the car, and then sat for a moment with track marshals attending to him. He was examined and released at the medical center. After the race he said his right-eye vision was briefly impaired after the impact and his hand was sore, but that he felt fine. Further tests are scheduled for that evening and Monday, and he expects to start normally in Madrid.
Barrier repairs took about half an hour. Stewards allowed all drivers to change tires under the red flag, which scrambled the strategies. Russell took hard tires and could run to the finish without stopping. Antonelli, who had started on hards, switched to intermediates and knew he would have to pit again. In the moment that looked like a disadvantage; it turned out to be the opposite.
From 19th to the lead in 17 laps
Antonelli had already moved from 19th to 12th before the red flag. After the restart he gained another five positions by lap 8, and by lap 13 he was third, watching the two cars ahead. Up there, Max Verstappen had restarted third, quickly dealt with Pierre Gasly, and taken the lead. Verstappen defended effectively enough that Russell could not pull away, giving Antonelli time to close.
On lap 15 Russell used better battery energy management through Curva Grande to pass Verstappen. A lap later Antonelli did the same. At the end of lap 17, with a strong exit from Parabolica, Antonelli moved into the lead: eighteen positions gained in seventeen laps.
Russell was not giving up. Over the next five laps the two Mercedes drivers swapped the lead five times. Russell even defended around the outside at Curva Grande to disrupt Antonelli's rhythm. Antonelli nearly drove into the back of him, then went right and came around the outside through the Roggia chicane. By lap 23 Russell was back in front, and the fight had let Verstappen back into contention. Mercedes issued a team order to hold station until both drivers had built a gap over Red Bull. Antonelli agreed, reluctantly.
The pit stop, the chase and the decisive three laps
The decision to pit was made for Antonelli by a virtual safety car when Lance Stroll stopped his Aston Martin on track. Antonelli took the opportunity to pit cheaply for his second set of intermediate tires, but still dropped to sixth, 15.5 seconds behind Russell. From that point he drove as if the championship depended on every lap. He passed Gasly and Norris without a fight, moved to third on lap 35 after Hamilton made an error, and overtook Piastri on the main straight at the start of lap 37.
With 17 laps remaining he was 8.8 seconds behind Russell. When Russell received clearance to push harder on his hard tires, the chase stalled briefly. But on lap 42 Russell reported over the radio that his tires were starting to go. His pace fell sharply, and by lap 48 Antonelli was right behind him.
The first move came on lap 49 at the first chicane. Russell braked late, Antonelli had the gap, but turned in too tightly on the exit and went through the gravel. Four laps to go; Russell still led. A lap later Antonelli left no margin: he passed Russell exiting the second Lesmo and was clear well before Ascari. The grandstands erupted. He built a second's advantage by the end of that lap, then set the race's fastest lap on the last one.
After the race, Antonelli said he had not expected this and that it was a dream come true. Russell congratulated his teammate directly: when he saw on the board that Kimi had moved up to fifth, he said, he knew Kimi would be in the fight for the win.
What this result means for the championship
It is Antonelli's seventh win of the 2026 season and the 50th Formula 1 victory by an Italian driver. He leads the drivers' championship with 267 points, 66 clear of Russell, who came to Monza hoping to cut the deficit and leaves with a larger one. A few rounds remain, and Russell acknowledged after the race that Kimi is the one controlling the title fight.
Starting from 19th is the second-deepest grid position from which a driver has won a Grand Prix. The record belongs to John Watson, who won the 1983 United States Grand Prix from 22nd. Among Italian drivers, only two-time world champion Alberto Ascari has more victories, with thirteen.
The rest of the field: Verstappen on the podium, Gasly seventh from pole
Verstappen could not match Antonelli after his own pit stop but brought home third without drama. Lando Norris passed Oscar Piastri on the final lap in the fight for fourth; both McLaren drivers had earlier pushed Hamilton back to sixth. Pierre Gasly, Saturday's pole-sitter, dropped into the midfield after the restart and finished seventh, ahead of Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto and Yuki Tsunoda. Stroll and Fernando Alonso joined Leclerc on the list of retirements.
Sixty years of waiting
The last Italian to win at Monza was Ludovico Scarfiotti, in a Ferrari, in 1966. In the decades since, Italian fans made the trip to cheer for the red cars regardless of who was driving them. On Sunday they had something different: a 20-year-old from Bologna in a silver Mercedes, winning his home race from the second-to-last row. Fans in red shirts cheered a Mercedes driver. That says something about the scale of the result.
FAQ: 2026 Italian Grand Prix
Why did Antonelli start 19th at the 2026 Italian GP?
He received a grid penalty for a power unit change, which dropped him to 19th on the starting grid. He started on hard tires.
Who was the last Italian to win the Italian Grand Prix before Antonelli?
Ludovico Scarfiotti, in 1966, driving for Ferrari. Antonelli ended a 60-year wait.
What happened to Leclerc?
Leclerc lost the rear of his Ferrari exiting Parabolica at the end of lap 2 and hit the tire barrier. He climbed out unaided and was examined and released at the medical center. He reported briefly impaired vision in his right eye and a sore hand immediately after the impact, but said he felt fine. Further tests are scheduled, and he expects to start normally in Madrid.
What do the drivers' championship standings look like after the 2026 Italian GP?
Antonelli leads with 267 points. Russell is second, 66 points behind.
Who stood on the podium at the 2026 Italian GP?
Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen. Norris was fourth, Piastri fifth.