Kimi Antonelli stormed from P19 on the grid to win the Italian GP and further stretch his championship lead. With this, he becomes the first Italian F1 driver to win his home race since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.
After staying in contention for victory for most of the race, George Russell had to settle for second place. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen completed the podium in third place after some bold passes.
- Antonelli wins, 3.857 sec ahead of Russell
- First Italian driver to win home race in 60 years
- Verstappen P3 for Red Bull
Antonelli defeats Russell to win Italian GP
Leclerc crashes out
Antonelli had to start the race from 19th on the grid after taking new power unit components. He’d already climbed to P12 when the race was red flagged as Charles Leclerc crashed into the barriers on Lap 2. This played into Antonelli’s favour and he quickly climbed his way up the order after the re-start.
On Lap 18, Antonelli passed his Mercedes teammate Russell to move up to P1. But the lead changed hands several times as the two Mercedes drivers battled it out. A mid-race safety car ended up being pivotal as Antonelli stopped for medium tyres, while Mercedes opted to keep Russell out. The Italian used his fresher tyres to catch and eventually pass his teammate to take victory.
"I could never have imagined to be here today, but we managed to pull it off. It’s a dream coming true. What an incredible day,” Antonelli said. “I couldn’t do it without my team, family and everyone who supports me. Still a few races to go, so we’re going to keep our head down, but now we’re going to enjoy today.”
Russell finished 3.857 seconds behind in second place, followed by Verstappen. The McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri crossed the chequered flag P4 and P5, respectively, followed by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Polesitter Pierre Gasly enjoyed a strong start, but dropped down the field as the race progressed and ended up P7. Both the Racing Bulls drivers finished in the top 10, with Arvid Lindblad ninth and Yuki Tsunoda tenth. Franco Colapinto split the two Racing Bulls drivers in ninth place.
2026 F1 championship standings
Antonelli now leads the championship by 66 points from Russell. Hamilton holds on to third place in the standings, just 10 points behind Russell.
F1 will next head to an all-new venue, with the Madring making its debut for the Spanish GP on September 11-13.
Dinshaw Magol
