Antonelli wins Italian GP from 19th after Leclerc crash

Kimi Antonelli overcame engine penalties, a start from 19th and a late excursion into the gravel to win the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday (September 6, 2026), beating Mercedes teammate George Russell after an early crash involving Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc stopped the race.

Antonelli made the decisive pass on lap 51 of 53 and finished 3.857 seconds clear of Russell, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a distant third. His seventh victory of the season extended his championship advantage over Russell from 59 to 66 points after 13 rounds. Nation Thailand’s previous-round report

The result made the 20-year-old the first Italian to win at Monza since Ferrari’s Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. It was also the 50th victory by an Italian driver since the world championship began in 1950, bringing Antonelli closer to becoming Formula One’s youngest champion and Italy’s first since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Ferrari had no driver on the podium in front of a record Monza crowd. Leclerc retired after hitting the barriers at Parabolica, while Lewis Hamilton recovered to sixth following an opening-lap incident with his teammate. Ferrari said Leclerc was OK after checks at the circuit’s medical centre.

Leclerc crash interrupts Ferrari’s home race

Ferrari’s difficulties began at the first corner. Leclerc had qualified third, alongside Hamilton in fourth, and forced the seven-time world champion wide into the gravel when Hamilton attempted to pass on the inside.

“Charles pushed me off,” Hamilton told the team over the radio. Stewards noted the incident, which dropped the Briton to 10th.

Russell took the lead on the second lap, shortly before Leclerc lost control at the end of that lap. Television replays showed the Ferrari driver, then fourth and defending against McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, suffering wheelspin and touching the white line at the track’s edge before veering off at speed.

Leclerc climbed out of the car and sat hunched on the grass behind the barriers. The safety car was sent out before officials displayed red flags on lap four.

Repairs to the tyre wall took half an hour. Russell headed the field for the restart, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly second and his Argentine teammate Franco Colapinto fourth. The first attempt to resume racing was abandoned because Racing Bulls stand-in Yuki Tsunoda was incorrectly positioned on the grid.

Tyre choices decide Mercedes duel

Engine penalties had left Antonelli on the back row, with two other drivers starting from the pitlane, giving Russell an opportunity to cut his teammate’s championship lead.

Antonelli had already climbed from 19th to 12th on hard tyres when the race was stopped. The interruption allowed drivers to change tyres, and he switched to mediums.

Once racing resumed, Colapinto briefly took third before running through the gravel and falling to 16th. Antonelli continued moving forward, reaching sixth after 10 laps, third after 13 and second after 16.

His first pass on Russell came on lap 18. Neither Mercedes driver could hold a lasting advantage as they repeatedly exchanged the lead, with Russell sometimes reclaiming the position on the same lap. Slipstreaming on Monza’s fast straights helped keep the contest open.

The strategies diverged on lap 29 after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll stopped on the circuit, triggering a virtual safety car. Antonelli and Verstappen, who had also briefly led, used the interruption to pit and returned in sixth and seventh respectively. Russell remained out on hard tyres.

With fresher rubber, Antonelli reduced an 8.9-second deficit to less than a second over 10 laps. An attempted overtake with four laps remaining sent him into the gravel, but he recovered, caught Russell again and took the lead for good on lap 51.

Russell said his tyres left him unable to respond during an afternoon for which a heat hazard had been declared.

“It was looking like a pretty strong race from us, and then I was just struggling with the tyres towards the end. Obviously, we did the whole race on that one hard tyre,” he said.

“I thought we were both going to stay out. I was surprised to see him pitting. In the end it was a roll of the dice both ways.”

Antonelli shouted “Oh my god, oh my god” over the radio as he crossed the line. He later stepped onto the podium to loud cheers.

“I could have never imagined to be here today. But we managed to pull it off and I’m really, really happy,” he said.

Norris takes fourth on final lap

Reigning champion Lando Norris overtook McLaren teammate Piastri on the final lap to finish fourth, but left Monza 96 points behind Antonelli.

Hamilton followed the McLarens home in sixth. Gasly, who had started from pole for Renault-owned Alpine, finished seventh ahead of Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad. Colapinto recovered to ninth, with Tsunoda taking the final point in 10th.

The championship continues with the Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid’s new Madring circuit the following weekend.