Kimi Antonelli made history at Monza: from 19th place to victory in the Italian Grand Prix
Kimi Antonelli achieved one of the most remarkable victories in recent Formula 1 history, fighting his way from 19th on the starting grid to first place in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver on Sunday, 6 September 2026, defeated his teammate and main championship rival George Russell after a dramatic 53-lap race marked by a red flag, a series of lead changes and a strategically decisive Virtual Safety Car. According to the official FIA results, Antonelli crossed the finish line 3.857 seconds ahead of Russell, while Max Verstappen in the Red Bull finished third, 14.718 seconds behind. The victory was particularly significant because Antonelli became the first Italian driver to win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. At the same time, he further strengthened his lead in the World Drivers' Championship and after Monza has 267 points, 66 more than Russell.
Penalty sent him to the back, but the race quickly opened up
Antonelli's weekend at Monza before the race did not look like preparation for a victory. Formula 1 announced that Mercedes had changed several power-unit components on his car beyond the permitted seasonal allocation, resulting in a major grid penalty. The official starting grid placed him 19th, while Pierre Gasly sensationally started from pole position for Alpine, ahead of Russell. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton started third and fourth for Ferrari, Verstappen fifth, and Oscar Piastri sixth after his own penalty for impeding in qualifying. Antonelli, unlike a number of rivals on softer tyres, started the race on the hard compound, which was supposed to give him greater strategic flexibility if the race continued without an early pit stop.
The plan, however, began to change almost immediately. Gasly retained the lead through the first chicane, but Russell took first place as early as the beginning of the second lap. At the same time, a serious accident involving Charles Leclerc occurred behind the leaders. According to the FIA report, Leclerc lost control of the Ferrari on the exit of the Curva Alboreto corner and hit the protective barrier heavily. The driver got out of the car without injuries, but repairs to the barrier required the race to be stopped with a red flag. By the time of the stoppage, Antonelli had already gained seven positions and reached 12th place, erasing a large part of his initial deficit in only a few laps.
After the restart, the Italian driver continued to move forward. Formula 1's official review states that after the first new lap following the restart he was already eighth, and then systematically worked his way through the midfield toward the leaders. Gasly, whose qualifying lap had been enough for a surprising pole position, could not maintain the pace of the fastest cars in the race. Verstappen passed him, followed by Hamilton, Piastri and Antonelli. On a circuit known for high speeds and the strong effect of the slipstream, differences in available electrical energy and the way the power units were deployed further increased the number of opportunities to attack.
From the midfield to the lead in just 18 laps
Antonelli's rise was not based solely on incidents involving other drivers. The FIA records in its official report that on his way to the front he overtook Piastri and Hamilton, then Verstappen, and on lap 18 he attacked Russell and passed him at the first chicane. Thus, only 18 laps after starting the race from 19th place, he reached the lead in his home Grand Prix. A long phase followed in which the two Mercedes cars exchanged the lead several times, while Verstappen remained close enough to punish any major loss of time. Russell explained after the race that because of the strong slipstream effect it was very difficult to permanently pull away from the driver behind, meaning that the leader was often simultaneously more vulnerable to attack.
Mercedes also faced a tactical dilemma during that phase of the race. Its two drivers were fighting for victory, but Verstappen remained in close proximity, meaning that any aggressive battle between them could create an opening for Red Bull. Russell later said that at one point the team wanted to reduce the intensity of their internal fighting. Despite that, the positions continued to change, and Antonelli showed enough speed to transform himself from a driver who was supposed to limit the damage after a grid penalty into the main candidate for victory. At that point it was no longer simply a matter of recovering through the field, but a direct duel for the maximum 25 points.
The decisive strategic moment came when Lance Stroll stopped because of a hydraulic problem. Race control activated the Virtual Safety Car, and Antonelli and Verstappen used the reduced speed on the circuit to enter the pits and switch to fresher tyres. Russell remained on track on the hard compound that he had used for practically the entire race after the red-flag interruption. The Mercedes drivers therefore ended up on different strategies: Russell gained the leading position and track advantage, while Antonelli gained significantly fresher tyres for the final attack. Russell admitted in the official media conference that he had expected Antonelli to stay out as well and that the team's decision to split the strategies made sense at that moment because it was not clear which option would be better.
Final attack on Russell decided the winner
After his pit stop, Antonelli returned behind Piastri and Hamilton, but that loss of positions did not last long. Hamilton's mistake at the first chicane made it easier for him to pass, and shortly afterwards he also overcame Piastri. With sixteen laps remaining, he was back in second place and began reducing the gap to Russell. Verstappen also worked his way into third place, but according to his own comments after the race he could not match the way the cars with Mercedes power units deployed energy and speed on Monza's straights. The fight for victory therefore once again became an internal battle between the Mercedes drivers.
Russell managed to maintain the gap for several laps, but his more worn hard tyres found it increasingly difficult to respond to Antonelli's pace. Five laps before the end, the gap fell to a level at which an attack became inevitable. Antonelli made his first serious attempt at the first chicane on lap 49. He drew alongside Russell, but on the exit he touched the gravel and had to abandon the move, giving the leading Mercedes a brief respite. Antonelli later said that at that moment he thought he might have missed his opportunity, but the speed provided by his fresher tyres allowed him to attack again almost immediately.
Already on the following lap, Antonelli caught Russell again and this time completed the overtake on the section between the Lesmo 2 corner and the Ascari chicane. After that, he never surrendered the lead. According to the official Formula 1 results, he finished 3.857 seconds ahead of his teammate, while Verstappen secured third place. Lando Norris finished fourth, only 0.197 seconds ahead of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, while Lewis Hamilton recovered from problems in the opening phase and finished sixth. Pole-sitter Gasly dropped to seventh place, Arvid Lindblad was eighth, Franco Colapinto ninth, and Yuki Tsunoda scored the final point in tenth place.
Historic victory 60 years after Scarfiotti
Antonelli's result carries significance beyond a single race. Official Formula 1 statistics confirm that Ludovico Scarfiotti won at Monza for Ferrari on 4 September 1966, and no Italian driver after him won the Italian Grand Prix at that circuit until Antonelli's success in 2026. Scarfiotti's victory remained one of the best-known chapters in Italian Formula 1 history, particularly because of its connection with Ferrari and Monza. Six decades later, Antonelli ended that run in a Mercedes car, in front of grandstands filled with spectators who traditionally support Ferrari most loudly at this race, but who this time had a home winner among the drivers.
The success from 19th on the starting grid also placed him very high on the historical list of the greatest comeback victories. Formula 1 states that this is the second-lowest starting position from which a driver has won a World Championship race. The record is still held by John Watson, who in 1983 won on the Long Beach street circuit after starting 22nd for McLaren. Antonelli's eighteen positions gained at Monza therefore represent one of the biggest climbs from the start to victory in championship history, with the result carrying additional value because he had to overtake leading drivers on the circuit rather than merely benefiting from retirements and strategy.
The official Formula 1 website also states that the victory at Monza was Antonelli's seventh Grand Prix win of the 2026 season. After 13 completed races, he has 267 points and leads the overall standings. Russell is second with 201 points, Lewis Hamilton third with 191, Lando Norris fourth with 171, and Charles Leclerc fifth with 155. Antonelli therefore left Monza with a 66-point advantage over his closest challenger, which is the greatest sporting impact of this victory when viewed in the context of the title fight. Nevertheless, at the media conference he stressed that he did not want to calculate the championship in advance because the competitive balance can change quickly during the season and that he intends to approach the races one by one.
Mercedes strengthened its leading position, Russell acknowledges the scale of the deficit
The double podium at Monza further strengthened Mercedes' season. According to official Formula 1 data, after the Italian race the team leads the Constructors' Championship with 468 points, with nine Grand Prix victories in the first 13 races of the season. Antonelli achieved seven of those victories, while Russell added two. That distribution of results explains why the fight for the drivers' title has largely also become an internal battle between teammates, although Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull can still directly influence the distribution of points at every individual race.
Russell did not attempt to downplay Antonelli's advantage after Monza. In the official FIA conference, he said that his teammate is currently in control of the championship and that a 66-point deficit will be extremely difficult to recover. He stressed that he wants to concentrate on each race individually and try to win as many times as possible before the end of the season. He also admitted that Antonelli's progress through the field already in the early phase of the race clearly showed that he would become involved in the fight at the front. For Mercedes, such a situation is simultaneously an advantage and a challenge: the team has two drivers capable of winning, but must manage their direct battles without losing points.
Antonelli, on the other hand, described the victory as a dream come true and one of the races he will remember for the rest of his life. Speaking after the finish, he said that before the start he had not expected victory, although he believed a podium might be possible. The red flag and rapid climb to 12th place changed that assessment, and after the restart he realised that he had a realistic opportunity to fight at the front. He particularly highlighted the importance of fresher tyres in the closing stages after he entered the pits under the Virtual Safety Car while Russell remained on track. His analysis matches the course of the race: the strategic decision created the opportunity, but he had to convert it into victory by overtaking Hamilton, Piastri and finally Russell.
Ferrari without the home result it had hoped for
While Antonelli celebrated in front of the Italian crowd, Ferrari had a considerably more difficult Sunday. Leclerc's accident in the early phase eliminated him from the race after only one completed lap, although according to the FIA he emerged from the car uninjured. Hamilton dropped through the order after a close battle and running off the ideal racing line in the opening phase, but gradually recovered and scored eight points with sixth place. For a team that considers Monza its most important home race, such a result was far from the maximum possible outcome, particularly after both Ferraris started from the first two rows of the grid.
Gasly was also unable to convert his unexpected pole position into a podium result. His Alpine had enough speed for a qualifying lap, but according to the FIA's description it could not maintain the pace of Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and the fastest McLarens over longer race stints. Seventh place nevertheless brought valuable points after a weekend in which the French driver demonstrated that Alpine can, under certain conditions, become involved in the battle at the very front of the starting grid. Aston Martin, on the other hand, failed to finish with either car: Fernando Alonso retired earlier, while Stroll's stop due to a hydraulic failure caused the Virtual Safety Car that directly influenced the outcome of the fight for victory.
66-point advantage before the next race in Madrid
After Monza, the Formula 1 season continues from 11 to 13 September 2026 with the first Spanish Grand Prix at the new circuit in Madrid, according to the official Formula 1 and FIA calendar. Antonelli enters that weekend as the championship leader with the largest points cushion he has held after the Italian race, but enough points remain available before the end of the season that the mathematical outcome is still far from being decided. Russell remains his closest challenger, while Hamilton, Norris and Leclerc need a sequence of very strong results combined with problems for Antonelli in order to significantly reduce the deficit.
Monza is therefore important not only as a historic moment for an Italian driver but also as a possible turning point in the championship. Antonelli transformed a weekend that, because of the power-unit penalty, was supposed to focus on limiting the damage into the maximum 25 points, while Russell in second lost an additional seven points in their direct title fight. In a single race he demonstrated speed in traffic, the ability to assess risk while overtaking and enough composure to recover after a mistake in his first attempt to attack for the lead. If that level of performance continues over the remaining races, Monza may ultimately be remembered not only as his greatest home triumph but also as one of the key races in the fight for his first World Championship title.
Sources:
- FIA - official report from the 2026 Italian Grand Prix, race progression and final classification (link)
- Formula 1 - official report from the race at Monza, strategy, starting grid and key overtakes (link)
- FIA - official post-race media conference, statements from Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen (link)
- Formula 1 - official 2026 drivers' standings after the Italian Grand Prix (link)
- Formula 1 - Kimi Antonelli profile and 2026 season statistics (link)
- Formula 1 - official Mercedes team profile and 2026 Constructors' Championship statistics (link)
- Formula 1 - historical results from the 1966 season and Ludovico Scarfiotti's victory at Monza (link)
- Formula 1 - historical overview of John Watson's victory from 22nd on the starting grid at Long Beach in 1983 (link)
- Formula 1 - official 2026 season calendar and the next race in Madrid (link)