Antonelli storms back from P19 start, overtakes Russell late in race to take stunning victory at epic Italian GP; Verstappen shines en route to P3; Leclerc crashes out early, Hamilton only sixth on poor day for Ferrari

Mercedes’ young Italian superstar Kimi Antonelli added to his growing legend at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Sunday by becoming the first Italian born driver to win the Italian Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti achieved the feat fifty years ago. But it was the way the only recently turned 20-year old did it that was so astonishing, as Anotonelli continues to run away with the 2026 championship. Starting from way back in nineteenth on the grid due to the team deciding to deliberately take new power unit penalties for this race, Antonelli racked up an amazing 25 overtakes and opportunistically utilized a mid-race pit stop for fresh rubber under Virtual Safety Car conditions to systematically hunt down his race-leading teammate George Russell and finally pass his British rival with just three laps remaining. From there, he ran away to the checkered flag to the tune of nearly four seconds ahead of the dejected Russell, earning not only an improbable and spectacular victory but also a wildly popular one in front of his countrymen, the always ardent tifosi, who pack the grandstands at Monza and then charge onto the circuit in ecstasy when the race has been run. With Antonelli’s lead now a hefty 66 points over Russell after thirteen rounds of this 23-race season, he is well on his way to also becoming the first Italian World Champion since the legendary Alberto Ascari way back in 1953. And if that also happens on top of this epic Italian GP win, Antonelli will never have to pay for a Campari in his home country for the rest of his life.

Like nowhere else. Like nothing else.

💚🤍❤️#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/rBmVHYKTZV

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 6, 2026

That Antonelli relegated his Silver Arrows teammate to second place in a race that Russell had led for a majority of laps was a bitter pill to swallow for the Briton, who has simply seemed unable to come to grips with the superior pace of his younger teammate in this year’s new W17.  Russell’s race was somewhat compromised by actually being in the lead at the time of the Lap 28 VSC, brought about by Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin needing to be retrieved from the circuit. As is so often the case in Formula 1, it is the trailing cars and not the leader who can take advantage of the cheap pit stop — around 15 seconds total time compared with around 24 under green flag conditions here at Monza — but credit Antonelli and his side of the pit wall for gambling on making an extra stop for new Medium Pirellis rather than the long lasting Hards being run by Russell as he attempted a one-stopper. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also dove in at that juncture but played it safe by going back onto the Hards after his second stint on Mediums. But Antonelli, who then emerged in P6, was able to maximize his tire advantage by quickly overtaking the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, the McLaren of Lando Norris, and then the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, who was the only other frontrunner on Mediums, but blew the Turn 1 chicane and had to watch Antonelli sail by him while he wriggled through the escape road. After one more pass on the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri, it was game on for the lead against Russell from Lap 37 onwards, Antonelli’s fresher and softer rubber proved decisive, as Russell’s ancient Hards finally gave up the ghost on Lap 50 after a multi-lap and ultra-tense pursuit.

Huge impact for Charles 🎥

A reminder that he’s out of the car and okay#F1 #ItalianGP pic.twitter.com/AYTRyQn0gI

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 6, 2026

Antonelli’s victory was a much needed salve for the Italian fans on a day when Ferrari had a fairly catastrophic result. Most serious and significant, Charles Leclerc had a wicked sideways shunt into the barriers exiting Curva Alboreto on Lap 2 when his left rear tire lost traction on a drainage grate just off the racing line and his Prancing Horse and then snapped into oversteer. It was a massive lateral impact for the Monegasque measured at something like 60Gs upon deceleration, and Lecerc was visibly shaken and complained of vision issues after the incident, although he was able to get out of his wrecked Ferrari under his own power. That brought out a lengthy Red Flag, which enabled the teams to execute free pit stops for fresh rubber and tempted the majority of them into trying run the entirety of the rest of the race without stopping again. For Hamilton, who had already been involved in a wheel banging kerfuffle with his teammate Leclerc on the opening lap, it proved to be a frustrating day all around. Although Hamilton would at least finish the race, the seven-time champ really struggled after his VSC switch to Mediums and was not only passed by the eventual winner Antonelli in the closing laps but also got knocked even further away from the podium by Verstappen’s excellent run to P3. He was then subsequently overtaken by both McLarens and relegated to a sixth place finish when the laps ran out. Ferrari looked anything but dominant at their home track, with a pronounced lack of starighline speed compared to their rivals. They’ll be hoping Leclerc can recover quickly for next week’s race in Spain and that the new Madring circuit will suit their cars better than the lighting fast straights of Monza

Verstappen was truly superb en route to his P3 finish, maximizing the pace in his RB22 even while complaining about recurring rear axle issues. The Dutch master made a number of bold and forceful passes throughout the race, culminating in a back and forth battle with Piastri for the last step on the podium. Verstappen had the last laugh when he made his final pass stick on Lap 43, securing a hard won third place by subsequently gapping the Aussie. In fact, Piastri may have taken too much out of his tires battling with the Red Bull, as Norris was able to take fourth place from him on the final lap after a really hard fought and sometimes quite sketchy battle between the teammates. Surprise pole-sitter Pierre Gasly faded to the Alpine’s true race pace over the course of the event, still finishing a solid P7. Rookie Arvid Lindblad excelled in P8, while temporary Racing Bulls teammate Yuki Tsunoda also scored in only his second race in the new formula. Tsunoda was drafted into the team when Lawson was promoted to Red Bull to fill in for the injured Isack Hadjar beginning at Zandvoort two weeks ago. The second Alpine of Franco Colapinto finished in P9 but was bitterly disappointed by an unforced error after the post-Red Flag restart when he ran off track at Lesmo 1 and through the gravel. The young Argentine was able to drive it back out but then had to spend the rest of the race in recovery mode, and was left to wonder what might have been when Alpine appeared to be the “best of the rest” at Monza.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian GP:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time as the teams travel westward to Spain and the debut of what looks to be a fascinating Madring circuit in Madrid. Can anyone stop Antonelli’s seemingly irresistible momentum as he seeks to become the first Italian to win the F1 title since Alberto Ascari in 1953? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!