Andrea Kimi Antonelli denied his team-mate George Russell to take the chequered flag first on the 2026 Method 1 Italian Grand Prix.
The 20-year-old turned the primary Italian driver in 60 years to win an F1 Grand Prix on the Temple of Pace.
Mounting a sensational restoration drive from nineteenth on the grid, Antonelli denied Russell, with a bit assist from the Mercedes pit wall, to bag 25 factors in his bid for a maiden drivers’ title.
Russell took the chequered flag in second, adopted by Max Verstappen, who took his first podium for the reason that summer season break.
How the race unfolded
The 5 lights went out at Monza, and Saturday’s shock pole-sitter Pierre Gasly obtained the right begin off the road and stored his lead into the primary chicane. Behind him, Charles Leclerc tried to hustle George Russell however rapidly had his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in his mirrors.
Out of the primary chicane, Leclerc out-muscled Hamilton, with the seven-time World Champion pressured onto the gravel.
Russell obtained forward of Gasly into the primary chicane on the following lap, with the Frenchman out of battery on the principle straight.
Leclerc sneaked previous Gasly, too, however with a recharged battery, the Alpine driver obtained P2 again out of the Curva Grande. The Monegasque then misplaced one other place to Max Verstappen on the Ascari chicane.
Nevertheless it was a catastrophic run out of Parabolica for Leclerc that ended his afternoon. Nearly a carbon copy of his 2020 shunt, Leclerc veered off the highway and slammed into obstacles.
Piastri had moved on the within of the Ferrari driver into the ultimate nook, with Leclerc holding place on the surface. However as he tried to get again on the ability, his rear tyres broke away from him, sending him out of Ferrari’s residence race.
The pink flag was referred to as out to tow the SF-26 out and reinstate the tyre obstacles.
Leclerc appeared winded (later cleared from the Medical Centre), and the Tifosi, understandably so, have been in tears. Russell led Gasly into the pit lane, adopted by Max Verstappen.
Franco Colapinto dumped all of his battery on the principle straight seeing Leclerc’s stricken Ferrari, anticipating a minimum of a Security Automotive. His gamble paid off as he got here into the pits in fourth, adopted by Oscar Piastri, whom he overtook earlier than the pink flag was referred to as out.
Lando Norris was slotted behind his team-mate in sixth, adopted by Arvid Lindblad. Hamilton was pressured to accept eighth after a second-row beginning grid slot.
The chaotic opening laps noticed each the Haas automobiles within the factors with Oliver Bearman in ninth and Esteban Ocon in tenth. Ranging from nineteenth on the grid, Antonelli had already gotten himself into twelfth.
Yuki Tsunoda incorrectly slotted himself on the grid after the second formation lap, resulting in an aborted begin.
On the restart, Russell stored his nostril forward of the chasing A526 into the primary chicane. Colapinto discovered himself in third however misplaced the place to Verstappen into Variante della Roggia – working extensive and falling down the order on the first of the Lesmos.
In the meantime, Hamilton recovered all of the misplaced locations and obtained himself into fourth. However the greatest winner of the restart was the championship chief Antonelli. One other impressed first lap noticed him sixth.
Verstappen obtained himself into second and forward of his former Purple Bull team-mate Gasly. By Lap 8, Russell had constructed a useful 1.7s lead over the Dutchman in clear air.
Hamilton, opting to run the yellow-walled Medium compound on the restart, was flying, posting the quickest lap of the race on Lap 9 and proper on the gearbox of Gasly’s Alpine, who was instructed by the pit wall to begin preserving his tyres.
On the following lap, Hamilton obtained himself into the rostrum locations with a smooth transfer on Gasly into the primary chicane. Gasly tried to battle again, simply as he did with Leclerc, into the Curva Grande however backed out.
Alpine’s single-lap tempo began to unravel fairly rapidly as he obtained swallowed by Piastri at Ascari after which by Antonelli on the again straight.
In the meantime, a horrid ultimate sector noticed Russell relinquish sevent tenths to Verstappen, with the four-time F1 champion now simply 4 tenths off the Mercedes driver.
On the next lap, Verstappen rocketed previous the W17 of Russell on the principle straight. Verstappen lined off the within and took the lead of the 53-lap race on Lap 12.
Additional again, Hamilton had already began dropping his tyres, with each Piastri and Antonelli getting previous the Ferrari driver. Antonelli was on a cost and by the following lap was forward of Piastri and into P3.
Russell, on the Hards in comparison with Verstappen’s Mediums, was in no temper to play the ready recreation. Hounding the RB22 of Verstappen, Russell now additionally had Antonelli slowly however steadily becoming a member of the occasion.
Lap after lap, Verstappen lined the within into the primary chicane, however this time Russell obtained the Purple Bull driver into the second chicane as a substitute. Verstappen’s staunch defence and liberal battery use noticed Antonelli lining up a transfer on the principle straight on the next lap.
By the point he reached the spot the place Russell had obtained previous him final lap, he noticed one more Mercedes swoop across the exterior and get into second.
In the meantime, Hamilton was main a four-way scrap buying and selling locations with Piastri, Gasly and Norris. Russell led Antonelli, adopted by Verstappen – the highest three separated by simply 1.2s.
On Lap 18, Antonelli accomplished his restoration drive from P19 on the grid and snatched the lead from his team-mate on the principle straight. Overtakes galore and approaching the midway mark, the race was removed from settled.
The lead modified palms once more on Lap 20 as Russell obtained previous Antonelli into the primary chicane, however Antonelli obtained himself again into the lead of his residence race simply two corners later. In the meantime, Verstappen began to drop off the Mercedes duo.
Antonelli was determined to maintain himself in clear air, defending his Mediums whereas letting his soiled wake erode his team-mate’s Hards. That mentioned, on Lap 22, Russell made a transfer stick on Antonelli as soon as once more into the primary chicane.
However Russell went extensive, permitting Antonelli a clear run all by way of the Curva Grande and again into the lead. This prompted the Mercedes pit wall to instruct the drivers to “cease Yo-yo-ing”. Secure to say, the recommendation fell on deaf ears.
All of this squabbling allowed Verstappen to get himself again right into a second of the lead.
On Lap 25, Antonelli was knowledgeable that Russell had been informed to “construct a niche to Verstappen”. If he failed, Russell could be requested to “invert”.
In the meantime, Piastri led Hamilton by a second. Midway by way of the Italian GP, Russell led Antonelli (who had backed off for the second), adopted by Verstappen, Piastri, and Hamilton.
Mercedes hand technique desire (and the race win) to Antonelli
Lance Stroll’s stranded AMR26 referred to as out the VSC. Mercedes reacted, with Antonelli requested to dive into the pits regardless of Russell main the race. The Italian ditched his Mediums for one more set of brand-spanking-new Medium tyres.
Verstappen adopted the 20-year-old into the pits, filtering out in seventh. By Lap 32, Antonelli was lapping 1.5 seconds faster than his team-mate, in fourth – slightly below 12 seconds off the lead.
Russell’s pit wall was fast to warn the Briton. The information that Antonelli was lapping within the 1 minute 25s got here a lot to Russell’s chagrin. “Simply let me drive. I’m driving as fast as I can,” he retorted to his race engineer.
On Lap 35, Hamilton’s brakes gave up into the primary chicane, forcing him onto the run-off, and Antonelli dispatched the Ferrari driver with ease.
Antonelli was now on the tail of Piastri and obtained previous the McLaren driver on Lap 37. Russell stored pumping in private finest sectors, however they have been no match for his team-mate on drastically more energizing tyres. 16 laps to go and Antonelli was 8.4 seconds off Russell.
To make issues worse for the Briton, Russell was put underneath investigation for a yellow flag infringement.
The simulations forecasted Antonelli to be everywhere in the again of Russell by Lap 50. The Mercedes pit wall now needed to determine whether or not to maintain Russell out or pit him to show the tables on the championship chief. In the meantime, Verstappen made his transfer on Piastri on Lap 39, getting him into third.
Russell was now within the 1 minute 25s, and Antonelli’s benefit began rising slimmer. 13 Laps to go, and the Italian GP might nonetheless go both means. Race management additionally dropped their investigation into the Mercedes driver.
Piastri obtained himself forward of Verstappen once more, and the Dutchman then locked up into the primary chicane. That wasn’t a priority for the Purple Bull driver as he executed the transfer with perfection this time, on Lap 43. 10 laps to go and Russell led Antonelli, adopted by Verstappen, Piastri and Norris.
Antonelli was now inside 5 seconds of Russell, with the race chief complaining that his tyres had began to “open up” – not a shock as Russell had now executed 41 laps on the identical set of tyres.
The Italian was now lapping within the 1 minute 24s. Russell was requested by the pit wall to simply “deliver it residence” because the vibrations obtained worse. By Lap 48, Antonelli was inside a second of Russell.
Antonelli made his transfer on Lap 49. Russell lined the within into the primary chicane however locked up. Antonelli, nonetheless, tried the cutback however obtained himself on the marbles and onto the gravel.
However on the very subsequent lap, Antonelli lastly took the race lead for good on the run as much as the Ascari chicane to finish a sensational comeback drive from nineteenth on the grid.
On the chequered flag, Antonelli turned the primary Italian since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966 to win at Monza. Russell adopted his team-mate residence in second, adopted by Verstappen.
Heading into the Spanish GP, on the Madring, Antonelli holds an prolonged 66-point lead over Russell within the championship.
READ MORE – Charles Leclerc out of F1 Italian GP after dramatic crash causes pink flag